


The Aurors' Daughter - River Storme

by PoppyEllwood



Series: The Auror's Daughter [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1976, Death, F/F, F/M, Hogwarts, Marauders, Romance, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:55:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 55,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27367651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoppyEllwood/pseuds/PoppyEllwood
Summary: In 1976 the Ministry of Magic lost two of their most well-known Aurors. Avery and Reginald Storme were well respected by many in the magical community but also resented by those who followed He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named and his ideology.Their daughter River started at Hogwarts in 1971 and spent years being tormented by the students who had had family members arrested and killed thanks to her parents. Now she was orphaned, living in a studio flat above Flourish and Blotts and waiting to start her sixth year with her Best Friends Lily Evans and Bethany Wirral. Suddenly everything had changed though.(Sirius Black Romance)
Relationships: Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Auror's Daughter [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023529
Comments: 10
Kudos: 48





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So at the end of this, there will be a time jump that will continue during the Order of the Phoenix or just before then with book two. The second book will be more on the explicit side of things as all the characters are old enough and will have changed drastically in that time.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (11/11/2020)  
> Edited: (30/11/2020)

“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school,” said Professor McGonagall. “I shall return when we’re ready for you.”

Professor McGonagall left the chamber. River backed up against the wall furthest away from the horrid group who kept tripping her all the way from the docks to the school. That morning she had waved goodbye to her parents and was excited to start at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but the train journey was long, after finding herself in a carriage with some unpleasant Slytherin second years.

River was in a difficult situation, being the daughter of two well-known Aurors, during what was now turning into an ongoing battle against He Who Shall Not be Named. River’s parents were responsible for arresting and killing dozens of his followers. Followers who had relatives in Hogwarts. Relatives who were not overly fond of River and or her parents.

She knew there was a chance she would suffer from the odd remark here and there, but the moment she arrived at the dock a couple of boys recognised her and it didn’t take long for the boys and their friends to start being rude. Hopefully, they would be in Slytherin House and she would end up in Gryffindor like her parents, giving her a chance to avoid them.

“I wish my parents told me what they did to sort us into houses,” River looked at the boy with messy hair and glasses, who was rocking back and forth on his feet, hardly able to contain his excitement.

“What do you think it is?” The dark-haired boy with grey eyes asked him.

“Maybe some test,” the boy replied enthusiastically, brandishing his wand and beaming. “Something dangerous, hopefully!”

The grey-eyed boys face lit up. River could feel her heart pounding against her ribs as she opened her mouth, debating if she should say something. Her cheeks flushed and she lowered her head, remaining silent. She was happy she’d remembered to leave her long black hair down today, it was the perfect thing to hide behind.

“Come along now,” said a sharp voice. “The Sorting Ceremonies about to start.”

Professor McGonagall had returned, rolling her eyes at the messy-haired boy who was still waving his wand around manically.

“Now, form a line,” she told them. “And follow me.”

River tried to join the back of the line, but that same horrid group waited for her to go first. She felt her cheeks grow hot again as she stood behind a red headed girl, who looked almost as nervous as she did.

They walked out of the chamber. A girl with heavy lidded eyes and wild black hair kept trying to trip her again as they made their way towards the Great Hall. Her ankles and her shins were hurting and most likely bruised by now, but that didn’t matter right now.

River thought she would be enjoying her first time at Hogwarts, but found herself blinking away tears, sick of being targeted. She had not even been sort into a House yet, and she was now already dreading the next few years dealing with people like this.

As they entered the Great Hall the entire group took in a deep breath, not expecting to see what was before them. River joined them looking around in awe.

Thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. Hundreds of faces stared at them and dotted here and there among the students were the ghosts of Hogwarts Castle.

River could feel her face getting redder and redder. To try and take her eyes off of what was currently happening, she looked up at the ceiling and saw the beautiful night sky. She only looked around when Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of them. On top of the stool she placed a pointed Wizards’ hat, that was worn and frayed and looked as though it had seen better days.

Everyone in the hall stared at it. For a few seconds there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened like a mouth and the hat began to sing:

“You small think I’m small,

And a tattered old Hat,

But the lot of you should know,

A lot better than that.

Not all who are small

Are useless and weak,

Some are very clever,

And it’s knowledge they seek.

Be you Slytherin,

The home of those with much pride.

Or those of Gryffindor,

Those with the lion inside.

The Ravenclaws,

With their intelligence and sight.

And the Hufflepuffs,

With their kindness and might.

You should never doubt my wisdom,

You should never question this hat.

As I am the wonderful and brilliant,

Hogwarts thinking cap.”

The Great Hall erupted in applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

River felt her heart beating hard against her ribs again. She was worrying about this part and had been for some time. She knew she was about the face the whole school and they were going to watch and wait to see if they would be stuck with her or not.

She watched as Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a lost list of parchment.

“When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,” she said. “Abbott, Abelle.”

The blonde-haired girl stepped out of line, put on the hat, which fell right over her eyes, and sat down.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” Shouted the hat.

The Hufflepuff table cheered and clapped as Abelle went to join them.

“Binns, Simon!”

“RAVENCLAW!” Shouted the hat again, and Simon joined the cheering table.

“Black, Bellatrix!”

The girl beside River made sure to bump into her aggressively as she passed, smirking as she took her turn. Also knowing exactly which house she would be placed into.

“SLYTHERIN!”

River sighed as she watched Bellatrix join the table of less than friendly looking Slytherins.

“Black, Sirius!”

The grey eyed boy swagged up to the stool and before the hat even touched his head it called out: “GRYFFINDOR!” He looked over the moon. Practically skipping to the table of cheering Gryffindors.

“Burbage, Douglas,” went to Hufflepuff, but “Crabbe, Vincent” and “Crouch Jr, Barty” joined the other miserable Slytherins.

“Evans, Lily!”

The ginger haired girl on Rivers’ other side stepped forward nervously. She looked very unsure as she placed the hat on, almost as though she expected the hat to say there have been some mistake. River could hear her sigh of relief as it called out: “GRYFFINDOR!”

“Dolohov, Antonin!”

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Flint, Raine,” “Goldstein, Alana” and “Hopkirk, Mafalda,” were all declared Ravenclaws.

The next boy “Lupin, Remus” looked exhausted, pale and covered in a few light scars. The hat paused for a whole minute before deciding the boy belonged in Gryffindor.

“Marchbanks, Alan!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Ogden, Magnola!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Pettigrew, Pete!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Podmore, Samuel!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Potter, James!”

The messy haired boy with glasses put his hands together in celebration, winked at McGonagall and took a seat.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

He raised his hand triumphantly as the table cheered and laughed at him.

“Robins, Eve!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Snape, Severus!”

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Storme, River!”

Her heart sank and her cheeks turned redder. She took a step forward unaware the boy beside her had put his foot out. She stumbled, only managing to catch herself. There were a few laughs from the hall and her face felt hot. She knew she must have resembled a tomato. She looked down as she placed the hat on, allowing her black hair to cover her face.

“Hmm,” she heard the hat say. “Another Storme. Well, I know exactly where to put you. GRYFFINDOR!”

She heard the table clap and quickly scrambled away, takin a seat beside the red headed girl, Lily Evans.

“Hi, I’m Lily,” she said sweetly, holding out her hand.

River shook her hand, still half hidden behind her hair. “River,” she muttered in reply, feeling like all eyes were still on her. She kept looked down nervously, listening to the hat finishing the sorting.

“Vance, Emmeline!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Wirral, Bethany!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

The brunette girl with brown eyes sat on her other side and introduced herself to River and Lily.

“Zabini, Kaine!”

The last boy was declared Slytherin and the hall fell silent as Dumbledore got to his feet.

“Welcome!” he beamed. “Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a couple of words. Tuck in!”

***

River’s time at Hogwarts was fun when she was with Lily and Beth, but unfortunately she gained a lot of attention, thanks to the horrid Slytherins and was frequently referred to as the fat girl who hung around with the two pretty Gryffindor girls. Lily and Beth did try and stand up for her, but the Slytherins seemed to run the place. It might have been down to the fact they all looked very unpleasant, but River was sure it was more to do with them being related to a lot of dangerous Witches and Wizards.

What made it worse, was, during first and second year she was partnered with Bellatrix Black in Potions, and the girl did everything in her power to make River’s life a living nightmare as did her vile group of Slytherin friends. Bellatrix had spilled ingredients and potions on River on more than one occasion and when Slughorn spoke out against it, River just admitted she was clumsy, worried more about the consequences of Bellatrix ending up in a detention.

It did not change a lot though, River still spent that time being tripped, hexed and called names in the corridors and classrooms. Some of the other houses even started to join in, not wanting to be singled out by the Slytherins themselves.

When her third year came around, River’s father had arrested Vincent Crabbe’s uncle and a member of the Black household. What followed was the worst year of her life. She had spent more time in the Hospital Wing than in the common room, but sadly she feared reporting them or admitting what was really happening, even though Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall had asked her and tried to help her hundreds of times. But River was petrified of the repercussions.

School did become a little more bearable during her fourth and fifth years when they were partnered with the Ravenclaws for Potions, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures, giving River a chance to avoid the Slytherins. For at least the first few weeks she had not seen a single Slytherin, except in the Great Hall, as she stayed behind a little in lessons to avoid them in corridors.

But realising they couldn’t get to her as easily. The rumours started. Only small things at first. The odd remark about her teeth and her hair, but it was soon followed by lists and lists of boys she had dated or had a crush on. More than once boys in her own year and the year above would single her out and publicly announce they were not interested, followed by a few insults.

When April of her fifth year finally came around, she was truly miserable and hoping more than anything the rest of the year would go quickly and she’d be able to return home, giving her a well-deserved break from school. But it wasn’t meant to be…

During one of her fourth period transfiguration lessons, Dumbledore called on River, asking for her to join him in his office. She was already petrified at the very idea and shocked Dumbledore even knew her name as she’d done a decent job keeping her head down and avoiding trouble.

But as River stepped out into the corridor, She found Dumbledore was accompanied by a man River knew was an Auror and a friend of her parents.

Before they had a chance to take her to his office, she fell to the floor, crying hysterically.

That morning she had woken up as the daughter of two well-known and respected Aurors and within seconds she was orphaned.

Lily held her hand in Dumbledores office, whilst the Auror spoke about what had happened, but she was too numb to listen. When she finally had some time alone, the sudden realisation sunk in, that she was sixteen years old and very alone.


	2. Flourish and Blotts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River starts her new life without her parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (11/11/2020)  
> Edited: (21/11/2020)

By August time, Rivers' life has changed drastically. During the first few weeks, she had lived with Lily's' parents whilst she came to terms with what had happened. She hardly ate or slept, but Mr. and Mrs. Evans doted on her like she was their own daughter, even Lily's sister stopped by and spoke to her now and again. Petunia may have disliked River's kind, but she did have some understanding of loss.

In late May, River had returned to Hogwarts for her exams in which she stayed in the Hospital Wing during the evenings and free periods, allowing her to avoid questions. Lily and Beth kept her company playing exploding snap and talking about their exams and Madam Pomfrey sat talking to River about her plans after Hogwarts and even asked her to help with potion brewing, which was a welcome distraction.

Whenever River sat in her exams, people around her smiled nicely and when they saw her in the corridors, they complimented her and extended the hand of friendship. Even the Slytherins looked the other way and remained silent, most likely after being threatened with expulsion.

As June ended, and the summer holidays started, she was summoned to the Ministry of Magic by the Minister for Magic herself. River and Lily sat through a speech, given to the Aurors in a private hall and River had to collect a couple of medals and shake hands with the Minister. The head of the Auror department offered his condolences and had offered for her to train under Alistair Moody once she graduated Hogwarts the following year.

"If you're anything like your parents," he said proudly. "You'll be one of the greatest."

Yet, those words offered her little happiness, as still, she so desperately wanted to see them again.

A few weeks later, as July pressed on, she was visited by Professor Dumbledore, who had brought with him her parent's last will and testament, which had left everything to River including her family home and her mother's small fortune.

She did not dare enter her family home. The idea gave her nightmares in fact. Now, was not the time for her to come face to face with a place that would finally allow her to come to terms with what had happened. She did not want to see the house she grew up in, empty and miserable.

Instead, she asked Lily and Beth to help her find an apartment. She was seventeen in September and wanted her own place, she needed to carry on living her own life and not imposing on others.

Beth's uncle, William Blott, and his wife Martha had heard of River's situation and offered her the old studio flat above their shop and a summer job to help take her mind off things. River moved into the little studio apartment in Diagon Alley and set about trying to rebuild her life as best she could.

Lily and Beth stopped by every few days and camped on the floor to keep her company. During the day she worked away in the book shop, serving Witches, Wizards, Goblins, and many other creatures, who all seemed to know who her parents were and offered their condolences.

During the evening Martha Blott would stop by with a plate of home-cooked food for her. She was very grateful for this as she had lost at least five stone over the past few months, mainly from not feeling hungry. Her appearance had changed drastically, at least she thought it did anyway.

By the final week of August, Hogwarts students flitted in and out of the shop. Most of them being overly nice and others not realizing it was her until it was pointed out, then suddenly they would plaster on an over-enthusiastic smile and walk over to ask how her summer was going and offering her a seat beside them at lunch and in lessons.

On the morning of the 31st of August, River's alarm rang out. It was a few seconds before her hand emerged from under the covers and she 'accidentally' knocked it on the floor again to silence it. Unfortunately, the alarm clock had a repairing charm, which then allowed it to shoot back together and ring even louder, shaking so hard it started to travel under the bed.

"Ugh..." she moaned, swiftly pulling her hand back under.

She stretched and pulled the covers down over her face, squinting in the morning light.

She clambered out of bed, dropping to the floor and reaching out under the bed for the clock, which was now purposely avoiding her grasp whilst ringing louder and louder.

"If you don't get here right now, you'll be going out of the window!" she snapped.

The alarm clock seemed to listen and rang all the way to her hand, allowing her to grasp it and turn it off. She placed it down on her bedside table and it started snoring.

She sighed and rolled her eyes making her way to the small counter in the corner, moving the kettle to the single hob, and flicking it on. As she waited for the water to heat, she went over to the bathroom, the light flickering into life as she entered. She caught a glimpse of herself in the dirty mirror and took the hairband from her wrist to tie her hair up into a loose bun. She rubbed the sleep from her blue eyes and stretched.

"You look, fine... dear," the mirror said drearily.

"Thank you," she replied, just as the mirror mumbled something else and fell back to sleep.

She entered her room again and opened her school trunk, removing a long-sleeved shirt and pair of jeans, throwing her work apron on over the top.

The kettle rang out and she made herself a strong cup of tea, drinking it as she left her flat and made her way down the creaking stairs and into the bookshop below.

"Morning," said Mr. Blott who was already flicking his wand at the blinds, opening them.

"Morning sir," she replied, making her way into the backroom to put down her cup of tea on a free bit of table.

She collected one of the cardboard boxes and went to the shop floor, starting to stock the remainder of the "Standard Book of Spells: Grade 4". What she adored about this shop, in particular, was the fact there were no visible walls. Every single wall was taken up by books, there were even books resting on some on the stairs and balancing on the banister. If you did not work there, the desk the till rested on looked at though it was made of books from the front, not like it was much tidier behind it.

River set about getting to work. Mr. Blotts was awfully quiet in the mornings until he at least had his third cup of coffee, which River didn’t mind, as she wasn’t overly talkative at the best of times.

Lily and Beth were arriving later that day so they could catch the train together at Eleven O'clock the following morning. She was so grateful for having them as friends, they had been there for her so much over the past few months and had done everything to try and make her happy again.

As the day dragged on the remainder of the Hogwarts students cleared most of the shelves by lunchtime, and some stuck around to make small talk with River as she checked out their books and packed them in paper bags.

"You look great River," said her fellow soon to be sixth year Douglas Burbage.

"Erm, thanks," she replied awkwardly, forcing a smile.

She wasn't overly fond of Douglas after her fourth year. He approached her in the Great Hall and loudly declared he did not appreciate the "Feelings" she had for him. Another rumour, which was not true. The Slytherins laughed hysterically and even the other houses thought it was funny. Douglas even said afterward, it was 'Worth the detention' as he didn't want 'someone like River fancying him. Whatever that meant.

"Listen," he continued as he collected his bag full of books. "If you ever want a drink or something when school starts..."

She tried to keep her face platonic, not giving away what she really thought of the idea.

"I've got a lot to do this year," she said, giving him the kindness, he, unfortunately, didn't give to her.

"Yeah, alright," he replied, looking downcast. "Well if you change your mind."

She most definitely would not, she thought as he left the shop, catching Mr. Blott grinning at her. 

"Don't," she said, returning the grin.

He shrugged and continued adding more of the 'Invisible Book of Invisibility' onto the shelves.

By 4:45 pm she was preparing the close the shop. Mr. Blott had hurried away to the back room, tidying the carboard boxes away.

As River took the rope for the blinds and started closing them, the door's bell rang out. Two familiar faces entered the shop. One clutching a stitch in his side and the other hunched over out of breath.

"I told you... we'd make it... Padfoot," said James Potter, as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"A... ha..." replied Sirius Black, rubbing the stitch in his side. “Stopping by… the Leaky Cauldron wasn’t your… best idea mate.”

“We had time…” James smirked.

James Potter and Sirius Black didn't see her at first as she went back behind the till and waited. They wandered over to the Dark Arts section, flicking through hexing books and muttering to themselves. She heard one familiar name: “Severus Snape” and suddenly felt like rolling her eyes.

After a few minutes, Sirius glanced over, raised his brow in a greeting, and then did a double-take. River smiled back, feeling her cheeks go a little pink. Sirius Black was looking like his usual handsome self. His black hair, longer, and he had finally managed to grow a faint beard, which he constantly went on about in the common room during their fifth year.

"I didn't know you worked here," said James Potter, handing over his sixth-year books with a cheeky smile.

Sirius dropped his books next to James' pile and rested his arms on the counter, looking between her and James.

"I just wanted to do something productive over the summer," she said, entering the prices into the old till.

Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts. Both of them definitely wanted to be Aurors after their N.E.W.T.S. She was going to be seeing a lot of them, as she and Lily were taking the same lessons.

"You've left this rather, late haven't you?" she heard herself say, hardly able to believe the words were coming out of her mouth.

James scoffed and shrugged his shoulders; Sirius seemed to agree with her.

"Better late than never," he said cockily.

The bell from the door rang out again. Sirius and James shot around. James suddenly turning red and Sirius rolling his eyes.

Lily and Beth were smiling and chatting as they dragged their trunks into the shop, leaving them beside the doorway. Lilys' face dropped the moment she saw James, Beth on the other hand beamed at the two boys.

Lily had changed over the summer, and James Potter could not take his eyes off of her. (Not like he usually could). Her red hair was longer, her freckles were darker and her perfect green eyes, even brighter. Beth had also grown at least half a foot over summer as well. Her dark skin was also smooth and perfect, and her hair was also styled in the same way at the latest Muggle trends.

River packed their books into bags and watched the show. James had been head-over-heels in love with Lily since their first year, and River knew Lily did not return those feelings. Although, it wasn't uncommon for Lily to mention James was still a good-looking guy, especially when she and Beth got onto the subject of boys.

"Hey Evans," said James, awkwardly.

"Potter," she replied, bluntly.

Lily didn't stick around and vanished up the stairs with a smirking Beth close behind.

River caught Sirius' eye and they both grinned. She felt her stomach do a flip, which, didn’t surprise her. Sirius was handsome. A cocky idiot and a trouble causer, but handsome none the less.

Sirius never really spoke to her or the girls, mainly because they had had separate lessons and other activities that kept him and his friends out of the common room. In fact, Sirius, James, and their companions Remus and Peter were probably the only group of boys that hadn't said anything horrible to River over the past five years.

"Ugh..." James rolled his eyes and turned around, putting enough sickles and knuts down for his and Sirius's books.

She handed him the receipt.

"She doesn't hate you," said River as they picked up their books. "She just doesn't approve of the misbehaving."

James sighed and shook his head.

"Keep your chin up mate," said Sirius, patting James on the shoulder.

"Yeah you're right," he looked from Sirius to River. "See you at school Riv."

James and Sirius made their way out of the door. Giving River a chance to finish closing the shop.

The last blind was down, and she turned her back, only for the door to ring out again seconds later.

"Sorry, we're clos..."

She looked up and Sirius was there again. River raised her brow and looked suspicious.

"River," he said awkwardly. Her stomach did another flip and her cheeks flushed pink. "We talked over the summer. Moony, Prongs, Wormtail and I. Well... If you have any trouble this year, just let us know."

She looked taken aback.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well... you know," he began. "You haven't had the easiest time at school. Not like we have exactly done anything to help. Me and James are too busy fuelling our egos and Remus and Peter are making sure we don't get into any trouble." He looked around sheepishly. "But... yeah, if anyone gives you a hard time, just let us know."

River paused for a moment and smiled at Sirius. Her stomach was still doing somersaults and she knew her cheeks were still a little pink.

"Thank you," she said.

Sirius nodded and ran from the shop to catch up with James. She paused for a moment, then a grin filled the lower half of her face and she sighed. She had heard that line more than enough times over the summer, it was really going to be interesting to see how many students actually stuck around when school started.

Before she went to join the girls upstairs, she went to say goodnight to Mr. Blott who was in the office talking to his wife.

"Hello dear," said Martha who was holding a wicker basket and grinning ear to ear. "Just a few treats for you and the girls for tonight."

She handed River the basket and gave her a tight hug.

Martha had such a kind, young face, even though she was almost sixty. She dressed like a Muggle Housewife, a lot of Muggle fashions had recently found themselves popular in the wizarding world, but Mr. Blott was quite happy in his grey robes and pointed Wizards hat. Mr. Blott had a very stern face, with wild frowning eyebrows and a matching beard, but he was harmless. He was very friendly and kind to anyone and everyone.

"Now, don't worry about your job, it'll be here next summer, and we'll keep your flat clean for you," said Mr. Blott, smiling.

River's cheeks flushed pink again, but she could not help but smile at the couple who has helped her so much over the past few months.

"Thank you," she said, blinking back tears. "Thank you so much for everything you've done. You really didn't have to."

"We wanted to," said Martha. "Your clothes are all washed and packed away, and we've left a few parcels in your trunk."

The shop was closed tomorrow so she wouldn't get a chance to see Mr. and Mrs. Blott. They offered her a place at their table for Christmas and said they would keep in touch to make sure she was ok at school.

After plenty of "thank yous" and "Goodbyes" she found herself upstairs with Lily and Beth who were sat on the tattered old sofa, talking about their plans for their sixth year.

They ran over and hugged River the moment they saw her, Beth taking the wicker basket with a massive grin, excited for Mrs. Blott's baking.

"You saw me two days ago Lily," said River, trying to escape her friend's grasp.

Lily gave her a massive smile as she let go and joined Beth at the kitchen counter, looking through the sweets, pastries, and pies Mrs. Blott had made for them.

River removed her apron and hung it on the back of the bathroom door. She felt a little sad knowing it would be a while before she would be back here.

She went over to her school trunk and opened it. There she found the parcels and a card on top of her freshly washed school things. She opened the card:

'Thank you for all your hard work, from William and Martha.'

River could feel the tears in her eyes again and she felt unbelievably lucky to have met William and Martha, even though the circumstances were less than ideal.

The first parcel was a Gryffindor jumper and matching scarf. The second a plaque Mr. Blott had made himself reading: "Employee of the Month - River Storme". And the final package was a framed photo of her parents when they had just qualified as Aurors.

She sniffled quietly and blinked her eyes frantically, trying not to get the girl's attention.

For once, she was looking forward to going back to school.


	3. The Hogwarts Express

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long journey back to Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (11/11/2020)  
> Edited: (21/11/2020)

Thanks to Lily they had arrived at Kings Cross station over an hour before they were due to depart. She preferred being early, after almost missing the train in their second year due to traffic on the roads.

They found a little Muggle café in the station, whilst Beth heaved their trunks onto a trolly and left it beside them. Beth's owl Winston was already at school waiting for her, as he went hysterical on the train. Although hysterical might be an understatement, River thought to herself, remembering, she, Lily, and Beth had to chase Winston up and down the train in their second year, which resulted in him clawing one of the Prefects who tried to help.

Lily bought them three teas and they sat watching as the busy muggles, with their briefcases and bags, passed by.

"I wish I could sit with you," said Lily, who was starting her second year as a Prefect and had to spend the first half of the train journey in the front carriage.

"You can join us after the meeting," said Beth, sipping the tea and pulling a face at the taste. She hated tea, it was never sweet enough for her, unlike butterbeer.

"Oh..." Lily's face dropped. "I forgot to mention. Hanna Zabini is Head Girl..."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Beth, loud enough a few pigeons flew for the rafters and some Muggles looked their way. "I mean... What?!" She whispered.

"Well apart from the fact she's a completely vile cow, she is one of the top students in Slytherin," said Lily.

"She's a bully," said Beth, knowing it would not change anything.

"But she's not stupid enough to get caught," River added. "The past two years she's been a Prefect she's had her little cronies doing the work for her and when anything big happens, she has the common sense to get out of there before a teacher turns up."

"I know McGonagall didn't want her as Head Girl," said Lily. "From what I gather she was very much against the idea as so many Gryffindors had reported her. But... You know... All the other teachers were quite happy to overlook that and give her a chance. Especially when she does so well in all their lessons."

Hanna Zabini in a higher position of power. What could possibly go wrong? River thought to herself. Hanna was vile to River during her previous year. She had more than encouraged the rumours and overlooked the bullying.

The worst part Hanna was dating Dean Woods, who River was rumoured to have a crush on last year, and Hanna was less than kind when she confronted her about it.

"Well," said River, changing the subject. "At least we know you'll be Head Girl next year Lil."

Lily sighed. "I honestly don't know if I want to be," she muttered. "That is if I'm even offered it. Remember the Head girl last year, she was crying hysterically after a couple of weeks."

"She did just get dumped Lily," Beth laughed.

"Is that why?!" Lily whispered in surprise. "I thought it was to do with those first years accidentally eating..."

"Please don't mention that again..." River cut in.

Time had passed quickly, as they spoke about who was dating who the previous year and who the thought would end up being Head Boy at the end of their sixth year.

When River, Lily, and Beth started to recognise the faces passing the café, they silently agreed it was probably about time to get the train.

They left the café and joined the throng of students, parents, and the odd Muggle, eventually turning into Platforms 9 and 10 as they reached the end of the station. They waited casually, not drawing attention to themselves as one by one families started to walk towards the wall between platforms 9 and 10, then in the blink of an eye, they would vanish.

River, Beth, and Lily approached the wall at the same time, leaning against it with the trolly, before slipping through the moment Muggles were not paying any attention.

They emerged onto the platform where a scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. The sign overhead read: Hogwarts Express, Eleven O'clock.

Smoke from the steam engine drifted over their heads as they made their way through the crowd, trying to find an empty compartment.

They clambered on to the last carriage when they finally found somewhere to sit in peace and helped one another to heave their trunks onto the train and under their seats.

Lily fished around in her purse, looking for her Prefects badge, which she was certain she had not left at home, or in the bottom of her trunk. River and Beth would have told her it was already pinned to her grey cardigan, but it was more amusing to watch her.

They eventually told her a few minutes before she had to leave and make her way to the first carriage for her meeting, in which they received a very nasty look in return.

A few people passed by their compartment, but most were happy to avoid sitting with other students, especially the first years, they looked petrified the moment they caught River's eye. But that may have been down to the fact they probably knew who she was or at least knew who her parents were.

River and Beth started to talk about a Ravenclaw boy Beth had taken an interest in as the train pulled out of the station, before starting a game of Wizards Chess to pass the time before Lily returned. Beth finally got a new set after misplacing her old set the previous year. River knew the little pieces were somewhere in their dorm room, but Beth really did not want to search for them.

They were roaring through the countryside before Beth admitted defeat and put her set away, in which the pieces were very annoyed with her.

River sat back on the chair smirking, but her eyes kept catching more people than usual walking past their compartment looking in. Most were clearly muttering something, and others seemed to hope to catch her eye and if they managed to, they gave her a big fake smile and waved.

Her heart sank a little, as she knew it was going to be like this. She knew there was a chance she would be looked at differently, spoken to different, and even treat differently. Honestly, she thought she was just going to be bullied for becoming an orphan at first. That was until she went to Hogwarts and sat her exams.

“You’d think they’d just take a picture,” said Beth, shooing away some of the third years outside of the compartment. “What are they expecting? You to burst into flames or something?”

“It’d make for an interesting party trick,” River laughed. “Can’t say the Slytherins would be too nasty with the possibility of being set on fire.”

Beth looked thoughtful and nodded. “I don’t think they’ll have much to say anyway. Most of their family members are being watched closely by the Ministry now. I bet you any Galleons, their parents have told them to keep their mouths shut and to stay away from you this year.”

“That won’t stop Bellatrix,” River sighed.

“I don’t know,” said Beth, smirking. “Imagine the number of people that’d hex her now. One word to you this year, I think even McGonagall will be after her.”

“Don’t give my hopes up too much,” River chuckled at the thought of McGonagall running through the school after Bellatrix Black. “If that were to happen, I’d wanted her to be horrid to me, just so I could have that scene on repeat in my head.”

Beth laughed, doing her best McGonagall impersonation. “Bellatrix Black! How dare you bring shame to this school! What would your parents think?!”

River pulled a horrid face and started to impersonate Bellatrix. “They’d be proud of me Professor. I’m bringing honour to the family!”

Both girls burst out laughing, just in time for Lily to return from her meeting, only she wasn’t alone, she was followed by the dark-skinned and beautiful Slytherin Hannah Zabini. Lily shot them both a look of apology, as River nor Beth expected to see Hanna in their carriage.

"Hey River," she said in an oddly sweet way.

Beth looked as uncomfortable as River felt.

"Erm... Hi... Hanna," River replied, trying to be as friendly as she could. "Good... Summer?"

"It was alright," she waved away the question and her face became quite stony. "Listen..."

Here it comes, River thought to herself.

"If you want someone to talk to this year, just know me and Dean Woods" (Hanna frowned at his name) "will be around."

River assumed Gryffindor Dean Woods had been made Head Boy. Regardless, she tried to force a smile, yet Hanna seemed to look like she would rather stick hot metal in her eyes than listen to River's issues. Clearly, Dumbledore and the other teachers had told Hanna and Dean to keep an eye on her.

"Thanks Hanna," River said, just wanting this over and done with. "It means... Erm... A lot."

Hannah looked rather pleased with herself. She nodded and left their compartment.

"Cow," Beth muttered as the door closed.

"Merlin Beth," said Lily, who was trying not to grin.

"It's not like you weren't thinking it!" Beth stated, looking rather pleased with herself.

Lily glanced at River, in which she smirked and shrugged. She didn't disagree with Beth one bit.

"She's only doing it because she's head girl," said River. "She's been vile to all of us for years. She'll be sat with her little friends talking about us now and they'll be hoping to get some gossip."

"Could you imagine going to Hanna Zabini for advice..." said Beth, sighing.

"She'd probably tell me to do one," said River, grinning. "Or end up hexing me."

During the remainder of the journey, people flitted in and out of their compartment. Most being Beth and Lily's friends from other houses, with a few coming in to make small talk with River.

She wouldn't have minded if it didn't feel so forced. They were clearly trying to avoid the subject of her parents, whilst so clearly trying to get some information out of her.

The problem was, in River's eyes, none of them really knew her and some of them had made remarks in the previous years, which confirmed that she really didn’t want them to get to know her.

Magnola Ogden a Ravenclaw in River's year even sat with them for a bit and admitted that it should not have taken something horrible to happen for people to realised what they did was wrong.

“They were just as bad when we were in second year,” said Magnola. “There was a seventh-year girl whose uncle had been killed, and just like that, everyone was being over kind and friendly to her. Little good it did after years of torment.”

“I plan to stay out of the way as much as possible,” said River truthfully. Her aim for this year was to try and stay out of the way, and hope in a few weeks people would be bored of being nice.

“Good job we’re in sixth year then,” said Magnola. “Homework is a great excuse to avoid more unwelcome faces.”

River knew Magnola had been bullied a lot in her third year, then her father Robert Ogden was promoted to a very high position in the Ministry and suddenly everyone was a lot kinder, especially the suck ups that were the Slytherins.

"We probably should get changed," said Lily, looking out at the setting sun and glancing at her watch.

They clambered from their seats and knelt on the shaking floor, trying to remove their uniforms from their trunks, without pulling everything out with them.

River closed the blinds to the compartment, and they struggled to get changed on the shuddering train. After a few knocks against the walls, River was finally dressed, sitting down and tying her shoes.

She stood up in her uniform and realised it was a lot baggier than before, thankfully Lily was very clever at odd little spells and resized everything to fit her correctly.

"Five Minutes!" The trainman called out.

River quickly packed away anything they had taken out on their journey. They joined the other students in the corridor, as they saw the distant lights of Hogsmeade. You could feel the excitement in the air and hear a few of the first years talking about the sorting ceremony, which always made her smile, thinking about Sirius and James.

The train started to slow, eventually coming to a stop at Hogsmeade station. The carriage doors opened by themselves allowing them onto the platform. River smelt the country air, smiling.

Lily muttered something and vanished into the crowd, going to do her Prefect duties. Beth took River's hand as they followed the crowd toward the carriages.

"Firs' Years this way!" She heard Hagrid call, standing tall above the students with his lantern in hand.

To this day she always thought it quite funny that a Muggle Born's first memory of Hogwarts, would be a giant of a man standing over them. I suppose it was one way to throw them in at the deep end.

River could not deny. It was a lot for her to take in, and she had grown up around Magic.

Beth pulled River to a stop at the back of a line, leading to the Horseless Carriages. People were trying to find their friends, so they at least had company on the carriages, but the Head Boy and Head Girl hurried them on. Clearly hungry themselves.

Lily eventually joined them again, accompanied by Remus Lupin the other Gryffindor Prefect, who had grown several inches over the summer and looked a lot better than the last River saw him in the hospital wing.

"Hello Beth," he said shyly. "Hello River."

River and Beth smiled at him in return.

When it was their turn, they clambered into the carriage along with a couple of Slytherin fourth-years River did not recognize, nevertheless, they looked unhappy to be there. Remus and River were quite squished together, which she didn’t mind too much as he smelt like chocolate.

"Good summer, Remus?" Beth asked, as the door slammed shut and the carriage shuddered into life, following the same road up to the school.

"Spent it at James' house mostly," he replied. "Mum normally takes me away during summer, but after all this with You-Know-Who, she prefers staying at home."

Beth smiled sweetly. "My parents are the same. Dad's been working overtime at the ministry; I've hardly seen him all summer."

"I still haven't told mum or dad," Lily added. "I can't imagine they'd want me involved in the wizarding world if they thought some dark wizard was going around killing people."

"It'll get better sooner or later," River added, smiling to comfort Lily.

Yet she felt as though she was lying. Wizarding wars and battles were never straight forward. It was getting harder and harder to trust people, a lot of people River overheard during the summer were talking about the ministry having spies on You-Know-Who's side, and most were worried to talk to anyone outside their close circle of friends and family.

River’s parents were a casualty of this war, and she more than anyone knew what was at stake. And she knew in the coming months and possibly years, it was going to get a lot worse before it got better.

“It took me weeks to decide the subjects I wanted to do,” River looked around to Beth, who was telling Remus about the never-ending dilemma about her after school choices. “Honestly, I think Muggle work looks so much more rewarding than what we do.”

River chuckled and Remus looked at her. “Lily took us shopping in London. The Muggle parts of it. Beth was fascinated by the restaurants and chefs preparing everything by hand.”

Remus smirked at River, and she felt her cheeks going a little pink, having never spoken to him much before.

“It’s really not that exciting Beth,” said Lily.

“You grew up around it,” Beth retorted. “So, you can say that! My parents did it the boring way, wave of a wand and, bam, all done.”

“Is she always like this?” Remus whispered to River as Beth carried on talking to Lily about Muggle life.

“Fascinated by Muggles?” River said. “Yes, this had been the past five years of my life. Honestly, you’d think Lily and Beth were born into the wrong families some days.”

“Peter’s just as bad sometimes,” said Remus. “He’s taking Muggle Studies this year; he likes the idea of working in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department in the future.”

“And what about yourself?” River asked, partly hoping she would be seeing more of Remus in class. He had a very calming presence.

“Auror is my main goal,” he replied sheepishly. “But we’ll have to see. N.E.W.T.S aren’t as easy as O.W.L.S.”

The carriage journey was quicker than normal thanks to Remus.

The two Slytherins on the other hand kept throwing nasty looks at them every now and again, mumbling something, but they soon turned red in the face when Lily threatened them with detention.

The carriage pulled up to the school entrance just as it started to rain. The Slytherins practically ran out of the carriage, distancing themselves from Lily, who was very pleased with herself.

River exchanged a smirk with Remus as they followed them into the school, looking up at the giant castle. River felt like she was home.


	4. Professor McGonagall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River's happy to be back at Hogwarts, even if Sirius Blacks little fan club isn't happy to see her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (11/11/2020)  
> Edited: (21/11/2020)

River, Lily, Beth and Remus crossed over the threshold to the castle, just as the rain started to get heavier. The entrance hall was warm and dry, which allowed them to avoid getting too wet. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and the magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed the other students across the flagged stone floor, everyone discussing the upcoming meal.

"I've heard there's a new Defence teacher as well," Remus began.

“What happened to Professor Trimble?” Lily asked, sounding concerned.

“You know what they way about the DA job,” said Remus darkly. “It’s pretty much cursed. We’re up to our… Fourth DA teacher now I think.”

"Miss Storme!"

River shot around, her heartbeat quickening as she had not expected to be taken aside so soon.

It was Professor McGonagall, waving her over to the side of the entrance hall.

The other students turned to look at her and it made her feel uncomfortable. Maybe coming back wasn't a good idea, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she pushed it aside.

Lily and Beth promised to save her a seat as they continued to the Great Hall, Remus giving her a reassuring squeeze of her arm before following the girls.

River moved with some difficulty through the other students, but eventually reached Professor McGonagall and followed her into a little side office.

"Don't look so worried," said Professor McGonagall smiling, gesturing to the seat in front of the desk.

River sat down cautiously and watched as Professor McGonagall herself behind the desk. She flicked her wand bringing over a brass tea pot and a couple of cups.

"Tea?" she asked calmly.

River shook her head; her stomach felt a little too uneasy for tea at this moment in time. Professor McGonagall poured herself a cup of tea, added a sugar cube, milk and then stirred it. She pressed it to her lips, taking a sip and then smiled at River.

"Miss Storme..." she began. "I just wanted to ask how you've been?"

River suddenly relaxed. She had not been expecting this. No one really asked how she was out of fear she would end up upset or worse. Only Lily, Beth and the Blotts had asked her daily if she was doing ok. At first, it made her burst out into tears, but now... Now it was different.

"I..." she paused. "I'm just worried." She looked awkwardly at the wall and then back at Professor McGonagall, who seemed to know exactly what she meant. "I don't want to be treated differently or singled out by the teachers. I already had Hanna Zabini approach me on the train and in all honestly Professor... I would rather shovel Hippogriff dung than talk to her about my issues. And... The fake smiles and overly pleasant conversation from some many people that have not spoken to me before... It's horrible."

Professor McGonagall smiled and nodded.

"During my fourth-year, my father passed away," she said.

"I'm sorr..."

She raised her hand and shook her head.

"He'd been ill for some time, but I was grateful for the time I had with him," she continued. "When I returned to school everyone was suddenly kind and pleasant, trying to make my life as easy as possible. I felt like some fragile glass that they were all afraid to break. But all this kept doing was making me feel worse. It was a constant reminder than something had happened, that my father had died. I'm assuming that's how you feel?"

River raised her brow in surprise and nodded.

"The teachers here will continue on as normal," said McGonagall. "That is why I wanted to speak to you before you entered the Great Hall. Student's will most likely carry on as they are, but sooner or later they'll stop when they start to realise how resilient you are."

"Resilient," River scoffed a little. "I spent a good few weeks starving myself and crying. I wouldn't say I'm resilient."

"You rebuilt your life," said McGonagall proudly. "You reacted like anyone would have, and from there you picked everything up and carried on. Mr and Mrs Blott have written to me personally, saying how proud they are of you and how strong you really are."

River's cheeks flushed red and she smiled awkwardly. Professor McGonagall continued to smile at her as she took another sip of tea. “I was also happy to see you’d received top marks in everything during your O.W.L.S. I am still hoping you intend to follow in your parent’s footsteps and become and Auror?”

“I hope so,” she replied. “There’s nothing else I’ve ever wanted to be. I think my parents had me training to be an Auror the moment I could walk.”

Professor McGonagall chuckled, which to River seemed very odd, as she knew McGonagall was normally a very stern teacher.

“I think you’ll be one of the best based on your talents in Transfiguration,” said McGonagall. “And Slughorn praises yourself and Miss Evans more than any other students.”

River smiled a little, feeling a rush of gratitude towards her teachers.

“But…” McGonagall continued. “… Just to remind you. If you are having any trouble this year from any students, or any other reason, just remember my door is always open. I’m not only your teacher Miss Storme, I am also your ally.”

“Thank you, Professor,” said River, grinning sheepishly.

"Now," said McGonagall, finishing her tea. "The sorting should be over by now, it'll give you a chance to sneak in without anyone realizing."

They made their way along the corridor towards the Great Hall, McGonagall telling River her plans for the term and the possibility of studying to be Animagi, and idea which intrigued River, but at the same time turning into an animal seemed fraught with risks.

Professor McGonagall accompanied River down the length of the Hall and little Professor Flitwick carried the stool and Sorting Hat out of the hall. People looked around, and a few of them nodded at River, alerting their friends.

“YOU SAID WHAT ABOUT MY MOTHER!”

Everyone shot around to James Potter who was stood up, pointing at Sirius, allowing River to hurry to her seat between Lily and Beth with no more stares.

“OH, MY BROTHER!” shouted James. “MY APOLOGIES, PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE!”

The headmaster was standing, about to speak, but he smiled in James Potter’s direction, clearly amused by his antics. James sat back down and winked at River, she smiled back at him gratefully, feeling her stomach do a small flip and she caught Sirius gaze down the table, he also seemed happy to see her.

“Welcome!” said Dumbledore, his long hair and beard a little greyer this year. “I say we must start this year on an important matter. Let the feast begin!”

The golden plates and goblets before them filled suddenly with food and drink. River, suddenly realised she had not eaten that day, started to heap mashed potatoes and chicken onto her plate, covering them with gravy.

“Everything ok with McGonagall?” Beth asked River quietly, making sure none of the other students could hear.

“Just making sure I’m still in one piece I think,” River chuckled, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. “The possibility of Bellatrix being hexed by McGonagall also seems highly likely.”

Beth smirked. “Merlin, I hope so.”

It was a delicious feast, even though River still had to put up with the odd glance and fake smile. Thankfully, she had her back to the Slytherin table, which at least eased her worrying a little.

Once they had finished with desserts, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again and the hall fell silent.

“Now, a final few words before we send you off to bed,” he began. “First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students. And Mr Potter and Mr Black would do well remembering that too.”

His eyes flickered in their direction, only just receive a thumbs up from the pair of them and a giggle from a few students.

“I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind all of you that no magic should be used in the corridors. Quidditch trails will be held at the end of this week, and anyone interested should out their name forward to their head of house. And now, bedtime. Off you pop!”

When they started to leave the Great Hall, Lily had vanished once again to show the first years where to go and River was left with Beth. They took the long way back to the common room to avoid as much traffic as possible. A couple of other Gryffindors seemed to have the same idea, as they were just ahead of them.

Up the narrow stairs hidden behind a tapestry and across a hidden landing they came to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was sat in the frame with her friend Violet.

"Hedwig," the Gryffindors ahead of them said.

The Fat Lady swung her portrait open and allowed them to enter.

As River entered the warm and cosy Gryffindor common room she could feel all the eyes on her once again. The fake smiles followed her as they waited for Lily to arrive with the first years.

Beth took her over to a cosy corner where they sat and waited. It wasn't until James Potter and Sirius Black came running through the portrait hole that all the attention turned to them again. This was somewhat of a relief.

"If anyone asks..." James began. "...We were here the whole time."

A few of the girls giggled at the pair of them. Their usual little fan club was sat near the fireplace, hoping that Sirius and James would join them. Instead, they glanced over at River and Beth, and oddly... joined them.

"Everyone doing alright?" Sirius asked the pair of them, leaning against the wall. James took a seat on the pouffe beside Beth, looking rather foolish as he was almost on the ground.

"Should we ask what you've done?" Beth replied, looking as confused as River. Both were clueless as to why they were over here. James, Sirius and the others always sat around the fireplace. It was their usual spot, which probably explained why the girls were now sitting over there.

"Nothing..." said James. "Unless he's got proof... and I can't imagine Filch will have."

"You'd be surprised," said Beth. "That awful cat of his is a nuisance."

"Pray tell," laughed James. "When has Bethany Wirral managed to bump into the horrid Mrs. Norris?"

"I can answer that..." River glanced at Beth. Her face dropped and she shook her head.

"Don't," her cheeks flushed, as the boys eyed her suspiciously.

"Can't be as bad as what James was caught doing," Sirius grinned, and James thought for a second before remembering what he was referring to. He laughed deviously and rubbed his hands together for effect.

"It was funny though," he said.

"Try telling Alana Goldstein that," said Sirius, shaking his head.

Beth and River looked at one another and smirked, not entirely sure what to do or say. That was until one of the girls in Sirius and James' little fan club walked over, pretending to trip so Sirius would catch her. Unfortunately for her, he did not. But he did help her up and she practically beamed at him as he held her up.

"Careful there," he said, nonchalantly.

"Oh," she said in a horribly girly voice. "I'm just so clumsy. I'm just happy you were here to help."

James looked at River and Beth, jokingly putting his finger in his mouth, implying it was making him feel sick.

Beth scoffed and River grinned, the girl shot a look in their direction, but did not react, only gripping onto Sirius's arms a little tighter and trying to pull a sensual face.

It was James who spoke up as he looked up at the pair of them.

"How you got a bit of trapped wind there, love?" he asked, faking a concerned expression as he looked at her face. "I'd get to Madam Pomfrey if I were you."

The girl turned red, muttered something to James and stormed off back to her friends.

"I'd keep an eye on that one Padfoot," he said. "Something tells me she's after you."

"What part of me I wonder...?" Sirius put a finger on his chin in and looked upwards, pretending to think.

As the Common Room started to fill a little more, and stares were becoming more frequent, River felt like she needed some time alone, or at least in a quieter place.

"I'm going to head to bed," she said, getting to her feet. "I'm exhausted."

Sirius caught her eye and glanced at the people who were looking in their direction, smiling and talking.

She bid them all goodnight and headed for the girl's dormitory. Walking up a set of spiral stairs, she came to the sixth door reading "Sixth Years" on a plaque. She pushed the door open and entered the small room.

It had three four-poster beds crammed inside, with enough room at the end of them leading to the bathroom. Their trunks had already arrived, and she started to remove her uniform to change into her Pyjamas. It wasn't long before Beth and Lily joined her. Lily laying on her own bed and moaning about James Potter and Beth grinning as she opened her trunk and started to fling things all over the place.

"Oh... Sirius asked if you're ok," said Lily, grinning at River who was already under the covers.

"I was just getting tired of being stared at," she replied, yawning. "I-it gets annoying after a while."

"Nothing to do with their fan club then?" Beth asked, raising her brow.

River blushed, took a pillow and threw it at Beth's head. She caught it just in time and threw it back.

"I thought so," she grinned as she continued to throw things out of her trunk.


	5. Potions with Padfoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her first day back at Hogwarts goes well... minus the tartan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (11/11/2020)  
> Edited: (21/11/2020)

River, Beth and Lily entered the Great Hall the next morning after a decent night's sleep. They found seats next to Remus and Peter Pettigrew, who were both reading their new timetables and eating their breakfast.

"Morning Remus," said Lily, taking the seat beside him. "Morning Peter." She nodded at the smaller mousy haired boy opposite, who flushed a dark shade of red, unable to comprehend that a girl was talking to him.

"Morning girls," said Remus.

River tucked into breakfast almost immediately. The dinner from last night almost seemed like a distant memory and her stomach was growling uncomfortably.

She was buttering some toast and talking to Lily about their lessons when McGonagall disturbed them to give them their new timetables. They had free time in between some lessons which was a nice change, but the double potions lesson that afternoon was something River found herself dreading already. She loved potions and it was one of her strengths but dealing with Slughorn was not ideal sometimes.

"I hope Slughorn doesn't do those stupid parties this year," River said sighing. "I've spent five years answering questions about my parents."

Peter and Remus glanced at River.

"He's lovely at times," said Lily, smiling. "He's already said he'll help me join the Ministry when I've finished with school.

"At least you get invited to his parties," Remus said, grinning. "He's doesn't like me, Peter, James or Sirius. Our families aren't famous enough for his taste." He glanced at Lily. "And we're also not Muggle Born potions geniuses."

River smiled at Remus. "Honestly, I hope he ignores me this year. I don't fancy spending some of my weekends and evenings with the Slytherins he fawns over."

"You got a point," said Remus. "Maybe, I am the lucky one." He winked at her.

As they finished with breakfast Beth left with Peter, as they were both going to Muggle Studies. Remus joined River and Lily who were going back to the Gryffindor common room until third period when they had Defence Against the Dark Arts with the new teacher Professor Prodd.

Remus told them that Professor Prodd used to work for the ministry, that was until he became too afraid to do his work anymore. He helped to stop Wizard pranksters going after Muggles. But he once got stuck in a toilet for two days and he had not been the same since.

When they arrived in the common room, James and Sirius made an appearance. Professor McGonagall had already given the pair detention, apparently, Filch found out it was them who painted his entire office tartan.

"McGonagall was definitely trying not to laugh," said James as they joined them all on the seats by the fire. James sat beside Remus and Sirius on the armchair by River. “Filch’s clothes were also tartan and his hair.”

"I wasn't really paying attention. All the screaming was deafening," Sirius replied, poking his finger in his ear trying to pop it.

"Was McGonagall really that mad?" River asked, looking between the two boys.

James smirked. "It was Filch that was screaming," he said.

Lily coughed as she tried not to laugh, and Remus was shaking his head whilst he covered his face with his hands.

"Both of you make it really hard to be your friend sometimes," said Remus, who seemed to be debating whether he should do something about it.

"How did you get caught anyway?" Lily asked the pair of them.

They both looked awkwardly at one another and then turned their hands over, most of their palms were painted tartan. River and Remus burst out laughing and Lily sighed and smirked. James' cheeks turned a little pink as he crossed his arms and hid his hands, whilst Sirius grinned and shrugged.

"It's a tricky spell at the best of times," explained James. "It doesn't help that one of the teachers has put some spell on his office so it's easier to find out who's been trouble causing. Woke up this morning with tartan hands and McGonagall stood glaring at the pair of us in the common room."

"Could have been worse," said Sirius. "Filch wanted us strung up by our toes in the dungeon."

"Wasn't it thumbs last year?" Remus asked.

"Apparently summers really changed him," said Sirius.

Remus nodded, looking impressed. Whilst Lily looked at River, somewhat unhappy being sat around James and Sirius, who were openly talking about trouble causing, something her position as a Prefect was strongly against. If Remus wasn’t there, she surely would have moved.

“Oh Remus,” James piped up. “Guessing who we saw snogging Lucius Malfoy.”

“My cousin Narcissa in fifth year,” Sirius looked disgusted. “They were like eels, well snakes are probably a better animal to compare them to.”

“A Malfoy in the family,” Remus teased him. “You’ll have the full set soon. Isn’t Bella dating that Lestrange who graduated last year?”

“That’s not the worst of it,” said Sirius, sighing. “My dear old mother wants Regulus to marry Anna Dolohov in third year when they’re old enough.”

“Romantic,” Lily added, blushing a little as all the boys turned to her.

“Welcome to the Pureblood mania side of the Wizarding World, Miss Evans,” said James, winking at Lily. “Somewhat grateful my parents aren’t like that.”

“Lucky for some,” Sirius laughed. “I’d happily date a Muggle if it meant upsetting my mother a little more.”

“She’d have heart failure Padfoot,” Remus grinned.

The girls looked between themselves, finding it very odd that the boys spoke about Sirius’ mother in such a way. Sirius seemed to realise as he caught River’s eye once again.

“If you met my mother, you’d understand,” he said. “She kicked me out over the summer because… well… what did she say Prongs?”

James cleared his thought and made a voice that sounded something like Beth’s impersonation of Professor McGonagall.

“You’re a Blood Traitor. Vermin. A shame of my flesh!”

“Who on earth says that to their own son?” Lily frowned, looking concerned.

“It’s not uncommon in my family, Evans,” he shrugged, as though it was quite normal. “Half of my family tree are blood traitors in my mother’s eyes.”

The thought hadn’t crossed River’s mind in sometime, looking back she was lucky, as are Beth and James to have parents who ignore blood status and allowed their children to be themselves and love who they loved.

It was ten minutes before their first lesson of the day they all set off from the common room. James and Sirius discussing their next plan and Remus was pleading with them to reconsider. They reached the fourth floor and entered the classroom, which had all the blinds closed and only a few candles lit. Lily and River sat at the front and the three boys stayed at the back of the class.

Defence Against the Dark Arts ended up being a unique lesson, and that was putting it mildly.

Professor Prodd had explained why he refused to join the rest of the school at the welcome feast and it was something to do with being afraid of large crowds. By the end of the lesson, River was convinced he was petrified of anything and everything.

He was very on edge and flinched at every sound and or movement. She debated a few times if it would be better to shout out the answers instead of raising her hand, as every time she did, he almost ducked under his desk as though expecting someone to attack. He also asked if they could warn him before casting spells but would prefer it if they did not cast any in class at all.

"That was some lesson," said Lily as they joined Beth and Peter in the Great Hall for lunch. "The man is off his rocket!"

River, Beth and Peter all looked at her, confused by the statement.

"Mental," she added, scooping up some potatoes. "He's completely mental."

"I assume you're talking about Professor Prodd," said Remus as he sat down beside River and started helping himself to a ham and cheese sandwich.

"It made the lesson interesting, to say the least," added Sirius, sitting opposite River and winking at her. "I've never been worried about a teacher accidentally hexing me before."

"I don't know," said James, squeezing in beside Beth. "I think McGonagall has definitely thought about it and probably planned on making it look like an accident."

"Y-you're jok-ing right...?" said Beth, her mouth full of broccoli, she swallowed it and continued. "If McGonagall was going to hex either of you, she would tell the whole school."

Remus and Peter laughed.

“How was Muggle Studies Beth?” Lily asked as she poured herself a nice strong cup of tea.

“Amazing,” Beth said breathlessly. “Right Peter!”

Peter turned red again and nodded in agreement, which, Beth clearly found very sweet.

“I don’t know you had numerous buses that went all over the place,” she continued, wide-eyed and amazed, whilst Lily smiled and nodded. “We only have the Knight Bus. But you have so MANY!”

“You weren’t kidding,” Remus whispered in River’s ear. “She really does like Muggles.”

“This isn’t the worst of it,” River replied smirking. “Don’t get her onto the subject of Televisions.”

Remus chuckled. River glanced up to see Sirius looking between the pair of them, but smiled when he caught her eye again.

After lunch, Beth and Peter went off to History of Magic and the rest of them went down to the dungeons to spend the next couple of hours with Professor Slughorn.

As usual, Lily went to partner with Severus Snape, they always had in potions and River normally had Beth around at least. But, instead, Remus took the seat beside her as he no longer had Peter to partner with.

James and Sirius sat opposite them, looking at one another as though they were up to something. River started to realise that may have just been their permanent expression.

Everyone in the class removed their books and ingredients, ready for the lesson.

James, River noticed, kept glancing over to where Lily and Severus were sitting. Lily was talking away and laughing with her old friend, but James frowned and looked less than pleased. River just exchanged looks with Sirius, who was clearly thinking the same thing.

"Afternoon everyone!" Beamed Professor Slughorn as he emerged from his office. He flattened his hair over his bald patch and stroked his walrus moustache with his thumb and forefinger.

River could see he had lost some weight over the summer and looked a bit peaky, but he looked pleased to be back at Hogwarts. He picked up the chalk and wrote "N.E.W.T Level Potions" in his scruffy writing and then used his wand to tidy it up.

He gave them a similar speech they had received before their O.W.L.S, about the importance of this year and the work they would do. He then continued writing on the chalkboard, a list of ingredients and a time frame.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?" he asked the class.

Severus' hand shot into the air and Slughorn nodded at him.

"The draught of Living Death, Sir," he said quietly.

"SPOT ON!" Slughorn exclaimed. "Ten points to Slytherin. Now in your pairs, I would like you to make this potion and the best one will win Twenty-Five points each for their house. Ready... Begin."

River and Remus opened their books and quickly discussed who was doing what.

Within a few minutes, smoke and steam filled the room and an odd array of smells. River stirred the potion six times clockwise and the potion turned into the correct shade of red.

James and Sirius were mumbling between themselves, arguing about who had done what.

"Did you stir is five or six times?" River overheard Sirius ask James.

James frowned at the potion, thinking hard.

"I mean..." he paused, grinning. "At least it's a nice colour."

River glanced into their cauldron and found a very bright pink looking mixture.

After another thirty minutes, Remus added a phoenix feather, powdered unicorn horn and gave it another three clockwise stirs. The potion fizzled, then settled, turning to a deep, dark black, and they both smiled at one another.

Slughorn's voice boomed around the dungeon again and everyone stepped back from their cauldrons.

He went from table to table, nodding and sighing at the different pairs. Practically jumping for joy as he looked at Severus and Lily's work. Lastly, he approached their table and looked into River and Remus' cauldron.

"Perfect Potion!" he declared, beaming at the pair of them, as he dropped a green leaf into it and watched as it decayed and vanished. “Definitely a top contender!”

He then walked over to James and Sirius' smoking concoction, pulling an ugly face at the smell. He wafted the smoke away and looked from the potion to the grinning boys.

"Why is it bright yellow?" He asked them.

"I don't know sir," said James. "At least it looks more cheerful than the actual potion."

Slughorn's lip twitched and he shook his head.

He looked back to River and Remus, and River saw Remus's face drop out of the corner of her eye.

"Miss Storme, I would like you to swap with Mr Potter for the remainder of the term. Perhaps you and Master Lupin will be able to teach them a thing or two about potion-making."

River and Sirius looked at one another. He smiled and gave her another wink, she just simply rolled her eyes and tried not to grin.

"Not again..." Remus mumbled so only River could hear. He was clearly not too optimistic about being partnered with James.


	6. Expect the Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River is asked out on a date by Dean Woods, the boy she'd had a crush on in her fifth year - and Hanna Blaise's Ex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (11/11/2020)  
> Edited: (21/11/2020)

Before River knew it, it was already the end of the first week and she was happy it was finally the weekend. It was nice being able to avoid the constant stares and fake smiles for a couple of days and it was also nice to have a couple of days to catch up on homework.

She and Lily spent the two days ploughing through their homework and Beth spent it somewhere in the school talking to some seventh year Ravenclaw boy who she had had a crush on for a while.

“What’s this one called again?” Lily asked, referring to Beth’s latest love interest.

“Cresswell…?” River muttered, trying to remember. “Or was it Cattermole?”

“Honestly, I lose track,” said Lily, sitting back on her bed and stretching her legs as she continued with her Charms Homework. “I know it was Kaine Zabini last year wasn’t it?”

“No, she said he was handsome,” River laughed. “It was Dawlish in his seventh year. When he graduated, she started to fancy… Caldron! That’s it. Henry Caldron!”

“Quidditch player, isn’t he?” Lily asked but didn’t need River to answer from the look on her face. 

When it came to Sunday evening, River had finally had enough time cooped up in their dorm room and joined Lily and Beth who were heading down to the common room.

They found Remus, Sirius and Peter on their usual chairs in front of the fireplace and were waved over the moment they saw them. Sirius and James’ little fan club were no where to be seen fortunately.

The girls took some pillows and sat on the floor with their backs resting against the chairs. Remus and Sirius smiled at River and she smiled back at them.

"Where's James?" Beth asked, stretching out her legs and holding her hands up to the fireplace.

"Quidditch practice," said Remus. "Don't expect him to be in a good mood when he's back though. McGonagall chose Dean Woods as Captain instead of him."

"I'm assuming that's to do with the vast amount of detentions Potter had last year?" Lily added.

Sirius scoffed and nodded at the remark.

"Dean Woods isn't much better though," said Beth. "He's been in trouble a fair few times, hasn't he?"

Remus and Lily both sighed.

"Well he was dating Hanna Zabini last year wasn't he," said Remus.

"She let him get away with everything," said Lily. "But we heard something interesting in Fridays Prefect meeting... Didn't we Remus."

Everyone went silent and all eyes were on Remus.

"Oh yeah," he replied with a chuckle. "Well, we have it on good authority that the moment Dean was made Quidditch Captain and Head Boy because of his 'Clean' record, he dumped Hanna."

"What?!" Beth exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

"He got the letter during the summer holiday," said Lily. "Then that same day, he turned up at Hanna's house and broke up with her."

The group of them laughed.

"What's the term again..." said Beth. "Sleeping your way to the top."

"Beth!" exclaimed Lily.

"Lily, just because you don't doesn't mean the rest of the school doesn't," River added.

"There's no privacy in this place," said Lily, looking repulsed. "There is literally eyes everywhere."

"You'd be surprised," said Sirius sheepishly.

"I'm not surprised you know where to go," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

River thought back to the train journey and Hanna's expression when she had mention Dean Woods. It made sense now, and part of her felt a little sorry for Hanna. If the rumours were true, Head Boys and the Head Girls spent a lot of time together. It cannot exactly be fun for her sitting around with your Ex-Boyfriend all the time. Feeling sorry for Hanna Zabini… Merlin, River though to herself.

The portrait of the Fat Lady opened, and the Gryffindor Quidditch team entered the room. Most of them went straight for their dorms and James joined them on the sofa's looking annoyed, but keeping his mouth firmly shut.

Dean Woods on the other hand strutted over and seemed as though he planned on joining them.

"Hey Potter," said Dean.

James looked at Dean, giving him a stony-faced expression.

"We'll be training again tomorrow night," Dean continued, looking around at the group of them. "We still need to train the new beaters. Adams and Smith aren't up to my standard yet, you're a little rusty too."

"Alright," James said with a glare and a shrug.

"Also..." Dean added, looking down at River. "Storme."

River's cheek flushed red as she looked up at Dean Woods. The boy who was twice the size of her and built like a house. She didn't even realise he knew her name.

"Yes...?" she muttered awkwardly.

"Can I have a word outside?" he asked, as friendly as he could.

The boys were looking from River to Dean and the girls just looked at River, clearly wondering what on earth was going on. She was also wondering the same thing. But he was Head Boy, this could have just been a follow up to Hanna's previously conversation.

"Sure..." said River, getting up from the ground and following Dean towards the portrait hole. She glanced back at the group to see Sirius and James glaring at Dean.

They stepped out of the portrait hole and moved to the side. River looked up at him. He was a good foot or so taller than she was, with a strong square jaw and faint blonde stubble to match his blonde hair.

"So," said Dean, with a cocky smile. "Your friend Beth was talking to a mate of mine. She said that you had a crush on me last year..."

For the love of... River thought to herself. She knew Beth didn't mean any harm, but she did have a habit of saying too much.

This wasn't exactly untrue. She did have a crush on him during her fifth year, that was until Hanna stepped in and threatened her. It was one of those rumours that was accurate, although she had no idea how the Slytherins knew.

Dean Woods was probably the last boy she had had a crush on. A month later her parents had died, and she had completely forgotten about dating or spending time with anyone she liked since then. Then again, she was just relieved this wasn't going to be some annoying 'You can always talk to me' conversation.

She sighed and nodded. "I did last year," she muttered. "But Hanna wasn't too happy about that."

Dean moaned and sighed, looking a little sadden by the mention of his Ex-Girlfriends name. "She's completely mental that one. She has been telling everyone I was using her to become Head Boy and something about me dumping her on the day I got my letter. She had broken up with me weeks before then, I was a wreak for ages afterwards. But she didn't want to be the bad guy and of course the Slytherin lot believed her."

River raised her brow and felt kind of sorry for Dean. She knew what it was like to be on the wrong side of the Slytherins and knew how the gossip worked in the school. No one believed the truth when the lie was so much more interesting.

"I've been there a few times myself," she replied, comfortingly. "The rumours in this place spread like wildfire and I've experienced them first-hand from Hanna herself."

Dean leant against the wall and sighed, shaking his head. He looked at River with his kind eye's and gave her a faint smile.

"Can't say I've ever listened to the rumours in this place," he said. "I've always put Quidditch first. I wasn't even planning on dating again... Until... Well..."

River's stomach did and flip and she smiled at him, blushing, was he really saying what she thought he was saying?

"Until...?" she muttered.

"Well," he ran his hand through his hair nervously and shrugged. "I saw you again, when we were helping with the carriages, I think you were too busy talking to your friends to notice. I could not believe it was you. You were pretty before, but you looked... look... amazing."

River snorted and laughed. "I normally get: 'What the hell happened to you?' But I think you said it better."

He chuckled and stood up tall again, giving her a cocky grin.

"So how about it," he began. "How about a date during the next Hogsmeade trip? My treat."

"I..." she paused, looking at his handsome face.

River was taken aback by the request. Part of her wanted to ask him why he was suddenly interested in her, the other part wanted to start living a bit more and to stop being suspicious of every boy who was kind to her. She took a deep breath and replied:

"Sure."

***

River had managed to avoid questioning from the boys by going for a walk around the school with Dean and talking about Quidditch and his plans after he finished school.

Dean was a lot different from what River expected. Although he spoke a lot about Quidditch, she had always thought he was one of those... 'Lads' as they called themselves. More interested in talking about girls and breaking hearts then actually having something meaningful.

He explained that he was in love with Hanna and she really did break his heart after their relationship came to an end and River explained to him that she'd never even kissed a boy, never mind had a boyfriend. Dean thought it was very sweet and kept teasing her about the fact she didn't know the rules of Quidditch as she normally did homework instead of watching the games.

When she finally returned to the Common Room, she found Remus sat reading and grinning at her. She shrugged her shoulders, looking a little embarrassed and went upstairs to tell Lily and Beth everything.

Beth apologised for telling her Ravenclaw love interest and Lily was smirking the entire time. This would be River's first date and Lily was probably more excited than she was. She was already making plans for her and making up a possible nickname for them as a couple. Rean and Diver were definitely not contenders.

The next day, Remus was ill, and the boys missed breakfast. They also missed Defence Against the Dark Arts, which resulted in Professor Prodd almost hexing Ravenclaw Raine Flint, who unfortunately stood up too fast. The spell missed fortunately and shattered a glass phial behind her.

It wasn't until Potions that River found Sirius, James and an ill looking Remus sat at the table. Lily went off to join Severus and River sat beside Sirius.

"Hey," said Sirius, smirking.

"Hey trouble..." she muttered in reply, looking at Remus who looked dead on his feet. "Remus are you sure you should be here...?"

"Hmm...?" Remus looked up at her. He had bags under his eyes and a blue tinge to his lips. "... Oh, Madam Pomfrey gave me something to make me feel better, but it takes a while to kick in."

She looked at James and Sirius who shrugged and acted as though this was perfectly normally. Well, it was for them, Remus was ill quite a lot and missed some lessons every few weeks. Apparently, he had a bad immune system and when he got the slightest cold or cough it affected him badly.

Slughorn entered the dungeon talking away, writing his notes on the chalkboard and nodding at Severus as he answered all the questions before the rest of the class got a chance.

They were told they would be making a 'Strong Calming Draught', something River had become a bit of an expert at making the previous year when Lily kept panicking before her exams.

It was simple enough to make, but she was now working with Sirius and was hoping he would work well with her.

The moment Slughorn allowed them to start, Sirius vanished to get the missing ingredients, whilst River started the potion.

Powdered Goats Bladder. Dragonfly Eggs. Bat Spleen. Followed by three stirs clockwise and two stirs anticlockwise. The potion turned a pale green and bubbled lightly.

Sirius arrived back at the table with the rest of the ingredients, listening to River carefully to make sure he added everything in the right order. After thirty minutes River added the final ingredient and stirred twice clockwise. The potion fizzled, turning into a calming light blue/silver colour, with small bubbles flying into the air.

"Done," said River, she looked at Sirius, impressed by his work. "Not too bad Mr Black."

He gave her an overdramatic bow in return. "Why thank you, Miss Storme. See I'm good in classes when I'm not being distracted."

They sat down on their stools as they waited for the rest of the class to finish, glancing over at James who was stuck doing all the work as Remus was resting his head on his arms.

"So..." Sirius muttered so only River could hear. "Dean Woods huh?"

River sighed and grinned. "I was waiting for this."

He scoffed and raised his brow. "So, are you going to tell me what happened or is that top secret?"

"He asked me out on a date, and I said yes," she replied, shrugging.

Her stomach did a flip telling Sirius, part of her feeling as though she probably should not say anything, but she didn't know why. She did see a hint of annoyance cross his face though, but Sirius had never really liked Dean.

"Out of every guy in school, you had to go for James' least favourite Gryffindor," Sirius sighed, nodding to James who seemed to be almost tearing his hair out. Remus was watching him, grinning weakly.

"Could be worse," she replied. "I could be going on a date with a Slytherin."

“I think James would prefer that,” said Sirius.

River smiled, looking into his grey eyes and trying to read him, but it felt as though she was being read like an open book. She blushed and looked away.

“I think you girls just like the Quidditch type,” Sirius smirked, teasing her.

River scoffed. “That’s even if I had a type. I was planning on the seventeen cats and living alone for the rest of my life. Which would be quite awkward, being allergic to cats.”

“Owls then?”

She chuckled, resting her arm on their desk and her chin on her hand.

“Just be careful with him that’s all,” Sirius said, sounding concerned. “I mean reputation-wise, he’s not got the best one when it comes to girls…”

River raised her brow at him and grinned.

“… I can’t talk, but you know,” he shrugged. “Just looking out for you.”

She knew he meant well. Over the past week Sirius, James, Peter and Remus were around her most of the time, trying to make her and the girls laugh and listening to them as the spoke about whatever it is, they spoke about.

She put her hand on his arm and squeezed a little. “Don’t worry about me,” she smiled. “Unless I somehow end up on a broom, then you may worry.”


	7. The Serpent and the Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's River's Birthday, some grave news is followed by some great news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (11/11/2020)  
> Edited: (21/11/2020)

River had never known her time at Hogwarts to go so quickly. Usually, she dreaded the school days, and the weeks would drag on and on. But thanks to the girls and her newfound friendships with Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter her time at school was enjoyable. Now before she knew it, it was drawing to the end of September and was almost her seventeenth birthday.

The sudden dread took over as it was only a couple of days away and she was hoping Lily and Beth had kept it to themselves, so she could have a quiet and peaceful day.

But that was not the only thing looming over her. Over the past few days, the Daily Profit started posting more stories about He Who Shall Not be Named and the actions he was now talking against the Non-Magical and Magical World. His Death Eaters had been spotted more frequently and attacks were starting to be a daily thing.

It was not uncommon to hear a few things, an attack every now and again. But now there was something eerie about the current rumours, as parents were also writing to students more, worried themselves. Even Mr. and Mrs. Blott had written to River to make sure everything was ok and sent her some books and sweets, which she appreciated greatly. They also warned her not to go looking for trouble. As did Beth and James', parents. Remus' mother told him to remain at the school during Hogsmeade trips and Peter's mother threatened to remove him from the school herself, which he managed to calm her down eventually.

On the twenty-eighth of September, just after River, Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius finished Potions they bumped into Bellatrix, Dolohov, and Lucius Malfoy in the corridors as they made their way to dinner that evening.

Severus looked down and barge passed them, trying to avoid getting caught in something between the Slytherins and Lily.

“Excuse you!” James called after him.

"Well... well... What is this..." said Lucius Malfoy, who was a year above them. He was as handsome as he was vile, and he was one of the worst out of the Slytherin lot. He did not hide his interest in He Who Shall Not be Named, in fact, he frequently reminded Muggle-born and Half-Bloods that their time in the wizarding world was limited. Lucius had slick long white blonde hair and dark eyes. He had a perfectly chiselled jaw and a pretty boy smile, but not of that seemed to redeem his awful personality.

"Piss off Malfoy!" Sirius snapped.

James, Remus, and Sirius moved in front of River and Lily, shielding them from the Slytherins. River and even Lily were surprised, but were grateful.

"That's not very polite, Potter!" he replied, grinning. "Didn't anyone teach you to respect your elders?"

"They also told me not to step in dog shit," he replied. "But I'll more than happily step on you."

"Why you little..."

Lucius went for his wand, as did James, Sirius, and Remus. Bellatrix looked between them and gripped onto Malfoy's arm with some force, forcing him to lower it.

"Now, Now Lucius," she muttered, grinning her wicked grin. "They're going to be doing something about their lot very soon as they'll see tomorrow. Soon there will be no more... dirty... little... Mudbloods."

This made James react as Lily flushed red. Luckily, Professor Slughorn rounded the corner and froze at the scene before him.

"Potter," he said. "Put your wand away. You don't want Filch after you, do you?"

James lowered his wand. He, Sirius, and Remus put their wands away and looked at Professor Slughorn, their faces filled with a mix of anger and relief. They were trouble causers on occasion but did try and avoid conflict if they could.

"Sorry Professor," said James.

"Now you lot get along," Slughorn shooed the Slytherins away. "Don't make me give you another detention Dolohov! And you Mr Malfoy!"

The Slytherin's glared and ran off down the corridor, disappearing. Slughorn soon followed on, determined to get to the Great Hall for a full and filling meal.

When River, Lily, and the boys got to the Great Hall they found Beth and Peter already waiting for them, talking away about their current projects in Muggle Studies.

James told them what had happened, and they all spoke about what Bellatrix had meant by: "they'll see tomorrow". What they did know is nothing good would come of it.

“You don’t think something has happened, do you?” Lily asked nervously.

“When isn’t something happening outside of Hogwarts at the moment,” said Sirius sadly, as he played with his peas, not overly hungry.

When they got back to the common room, they sat in the cosy corner, as Sirius and James' fan club had taken their usual seats around the fireplace, much to their annoyance.

"You know you're going to have to tell them you're not interested at some point?" said Remus, cramped on a chair with River, who had Lily sat on her lap.

"Never said we weren't," said James with a wink. "We're just busy at the moment."

"Busy fuelling your ego's maybe..." said Lily, shaking her head at the pair of them.

"We're keeping our options open," said Sirius. "We might be looking for a special lady at some point."

River suddenly felt an annoying twinge in her stomach as Sirius spoke about the girls. She shook it off and sighed at the boys.

"You'll be dealing with a special stalker at the rate it's going," said Remus. "And I'm not going through that again."

"Again?" Said Beth.

"Don't ask," said James.

“It was a little funny…” said Sirius. “Until she set fire to Peter’s bed…”

River exchanged looks with Remus.

“She thought it was James’ bed,” said Remus. “That’s the last time you date a Slytherin,” he shot at James.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” James shrugged.

When Peter and Beth announced they were going to the Library, it gave them all enough room to sit down. James forced onto the low pouffe and Lily somewhat happy being sat next to Sirius.

“At least Peter’s coming out of his shell a bit more,” said Lily, smiling at she watched Beth and Peter leave the common room.

“I don’t think you get a say in that with Beth,” River said. “She’d drag anyone out of their shell kicking and screaming. I think she’s done exactly that with Peter.”

James smiled. “It’s nice to see him being a bit more relaxed around girls,” he said. “He really fancied Magnola Ogden last year, but he was petrified of her.”

“I can relate to that,” River laughed. “Any boy I used to have crush on I couldn’t say two words too.”

“Rules us out then,” Sirius smirked. “You’ve said more than enough words to all of us.”

“Even if I did fancy you Black, you’d never find out,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “I wouldn’t want to fuel that ego anymore.”

Sirius smiled at her and winked again.

“You’re missing out,” he said.

“You’re really not,” Remus whispered.

***

River woke the next morning to find a pile of presents at the end of her bed and some red and gold bunting around the bedroom, no doubt put up by the House-Elves. The shower was running in the next room and Beth was still fast asleep, her alarm clock still smashed up upon the floor next to her, finally able to remove the horrible repairing charm.

River just laid there for a few minutes. Letting the fact, it was her birthday sink in. It was her seventeenth, the most important birthday in a Witch or Wizards life, as she could officially use magic outside of school. She thought back to her previous ones. Keeping it quiet in school so no one knew, mainly so she wasn't singled out in any way. Lily and Beth didn't even know when her birthday was until her third year when she accidentally let it slip.

When she finally finished feeling sorry for herself, she got out of bed and got ready for the day. It was at least Friday, she kept telling herself. She would have preferred it if her Birthday fell on a weekend, at least then she could have avoided everyone in the school and spent the day moping around her room.

"Happy Birthday!" exclaimed Lily as she emerged from the bathroom, drying her hair on a towel and grinning from ear to ear.

"Wu..." Beth snorted, sitting up, her hair messy and wild. She mumbled something, glared at Lily, and retreated under the covers. She was free until fourth lesson on Fridays and liked to sleep in.

River smiled at Lily in thanks.

"You're alright, aren't you?" Lily asked, looking concerned. "I mean, I know days like this aren't going to be easy for you."

River forced a smile and nodded. "I'll be fine," she replied. "It'll just take some getting used to. Just a shame my parents aren't around to watch me grow up."

Lily walked over and wrapped her arms around River, squeezing her tightly. "It'll get better in time. You've always got me... and..." She glanced at the snoring pile under the covers. "...And that..."

River scoffed. Deciding she wanted to leave the presents until later and get on with her day. Lily used a spell to dry her hair and they both collected their bags and went down to the Great Hall.

When they arrived, talking away about their plans for the weekend, they suddenly realized they were the only ones talking, in a very full hall of students. River and Lily fell silent.

An ominous silence hung over the Great Hall. None of them spoke, only read their copies of the Daily Profit they had before them.

River and Lily exchanged looks of concern as they went to join Sirius, Remus, and James, who were all very pale as they huddled together to read the newspaper.

"What's happened?" River asked them quietly.

Sirius looked up at her, his grey eyes meeting hers. "We're at war..." He lowered the Daily Profit the three of them had gathered around, the headline reading: "Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold Declares the Ministry is at War With He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named after a series of Muggle Murders."

Lily took hold of River's hand and squeezed it. The thought of her own Birthday had been pushed to the back of her mind, and now she was sure she wanted, more than anything for it to remain a secret.

They sat with the boys as Sirius read aloud the key details of the story, mentioning River's parents, who were apparently two of the first to die during the battle with You-Know-Who. Naming them as "Great Heroes", being survived by their daughter River Storme.

Her cheeks flushed pink and she sighed, it was not something she wanted to hear today.

"I wish they'd leave me out of it," she muttered. "Another reason for people to stare and talk, just after it was starting to calm down."

"It'll be alright," said Remus, gently stroking her back with his hand and smiling comfortingly.

"Have the teachers said anything yet?" Lily asked, looking up to the top table.

River noticed that for once there didn't seem to be any empty seats at the top table. Even Professor Prodd had pried himself away from his classroom and was sat beside Slughorn talking. Shaking, with his eyes darting in all directions, but talking, nonetheless.

"Not yet," said James. "Dumbledore wants to say something though before we go to lessons."

Lily sighed. "I won't tell Mum and Dad. I'd rather them not worry."

"We'll be safe at Hogwarts," said Remus, looking a little unsure. "On Page-Three the Ministry said they are sending Aurors and Ministry workers here to help keep the school safe."

"His lot won't come here anyway," said James, confidently. "Everyone knows You Know Who is afraid of Dumbledore."

"That's what the Daily Profit says," said Sirius.

"Mum said it to," added Remus.

"And I heard more than enough people mention it when I was working over the summer," said River. "A lot said that they think Dumbledore should be running the Ministry, but they've been saying that since he defeated Grindelwald."

"Well if Dumbledore can defeat Grindelwald. I can't see him having an issue with You Know Who," said Sirius.

When Dumbledore cleared his voice at the top table, the whispering around the hall stopped, and the teachers froze. Dumbledore got to his feet, looking downcast as he looked around at all their faces. Lily was still holding River's hand tightly and looking nervous.

Dumbledore sighed and shook his head before he opened his mouth and began to speak.

"The Minister for Magic has asked me to relay these words to the students of this school," his voice boomed around the Great Hall. "In this grave hour, for the second time in the lives of most, we are at war. The Ministry for Magic has fought against Lord Voldemort" (There was a gasp at his name) "For years upon years and now. Trying to bring an end to his following, his hatred, and his will to destroy those he sees as 'below him'. Now, we are at a point, where is power and his determination has become strong. Too strong, to be ignored for a moment longer.

"Those who had retired as Aurors have agreed to re-join, and many of our European allies have come forward to assist the Ministry during this time. The Muggle Prime Minister has been warned, warned of the dangers his people may face in the coming months and years and he is helping in any way he can. We must stand together, we must help one another, fight if we must. Die for a cause that will allow our children and our children's children to be free of this evil.

"I cannot promise you this will be over soon. But I can promise that Hogwarts is a home and a safe place for every student and teacher within these walls. Aurors will be joining us, the ancient magic protecting this great castle will stop any who wish you harm from entering. And I need not remind you, but any of those who are found to have helped Lord Voldemort or his Death Eater followers in any way will be banished from the grounds and this school." His eyes flickered to the Slytherin table, all of which seemed emotionless.

"If we come together, be ready for whatever service or sacrifice it may demand, then, in time, we shall prevail."

There was silence as Dumbledore sat down.

No one took their eyes from the Headmaster.

James Potter was the first to stand. He clapped and nodded. Sirius joined him, then Remus, Lily, and finally River. The whole hall erupted in applause as the three tables stood. The teachers, looking as though they could not be prouder to stand beside Dumbledore.

Those who remain seated, where the Slytherins. They clapped unenthusiastically and muttered to one another.

Why would they clap? River thought to herself. Many of their family members had joined He Who Shall Not be Named, many of them intended to once they finished at Hogwarts. Everyone knew this, teachers knew this. They could only hope that minds would be changed.

They entered the Transfiguration classroom after breakfast. James, Sirius, and Remus, who normally sat at the back of the classroom, joined River and Lily at the front. River did not mind. Something Dumbledore said about standing together made her appreciate them even more, even if they were idiots at times.

Professor McGonagall entered soon after. Even though she was a little paler than usual, she tried to look as calm and as cheerful as she could throughout as they spent the lesson Transfiguring parts of their facial features.

She told them that this was a key part of Auror Training for those who were still wishing to be Aurors.

Lily was looking in the handheld mirror in which she had a very red and bushy handlebar moustache with matching sideburns and a bald head.

"You look... great," said River, who now had a black beard as long as Dumbledores' and bushy eyebrows which almost covered her eyes.

"As do you, sir," Lily replied, grinning. She pointed her wand at her nose, and it lengthened.

"Merlin!" James exclaimed, looking at Lily.

The girls looked over at James and Sirius who looked a little mismatched and Remus who was now a very pretty brunette, with large eyes, full lips, and an oval face.

James had mismatched eyes, a button nose, and a long, pointed chin. One of his eyebrows was also smoking. Sirius on the other hand had managed to switch his nose and mouth around, which he found rather funny.

"I think Lily looks better even you James," said River, trying to get a reaction out of him. "I might have to cancel my date with Dean Woods and take Lily, or should I say, Lenny."

"Why thank you River... or should I say, Ryan," said Lily. "And you look very beautiful Remus or should I say, Rebecca..."

Remus grinned, glanced into his hand mirror, and winked. James and Sirius on the other hand frowned at the lot of them.

"Hey," said Sirius. "No one is as handsome as this devil." He put his hand on James' shoulder and shook him as he was trying to fix his eyebrow. The spell backfired on Sirius and James' smoking eyebrow was now stuck to Sirius' forehead.

"Masters of disguise you are not," said McGonagall who looked over at them from her desk after hearing River and Lily laugh at the boys.

She eventually called an end to the lesson and congratulated Lily on her new appearance and assured her she would soon have a fan club just like Sirius and James if she walked around school looking like Lenny.

As they entered Herbology the boys were still trying to fix their appearances but only making it worse. The class was in hysterics as Sirius managed to blast his nose completely off, resulting in it being stuck to the greenhouse window.

"Welco..." Professor Spout paused, catching a glimpse of the boys, unsure how to react. "Am I giving detention to some Slytherin's for this? Or should I assume Mr. Potter and Mr. Black had a spot they tried to get rid of...?"

"We've just had transfiguration Professor," said Lily, still giggling.

"And I can see they passed with flying colours," she caught sight of the nose on the windowpane and rolled her eyes. She muttered something under her breath and their appearances changed back. Sirius's nose did at least two laps of the Greenhouse though before it was firmly back on his face.

"Definitely your nose then," River muttered to Sirius beside her. "Could resist showing off."

He nudged her arm and grinned.

The day dragged on. River finally finished with Charms and they all went down to the Great Hall for some well-deserved dinner. Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter were apparently at the Library, trying to catch up with their already late homework and said they would meet them in the Common Room later.

Auror's entered the Hall with other Ministry Officials, each one looking graver than the last. Approaching the table, talking to the teachers, and walking back down the hall again.

River recognised a few of them and she assumed they recognised her, but when Auror's were on duty they had to stick to a very strict set of rules and small talk was not one of them.

"I don't feel any safer with this lot here," Beth muttered, looking at one of the Auror's who was easily about seven-foot-tall and covered in scars. "They're intimidating."

"They're not here for a beauty contest Beth," said River. "Plus, I'd rather them look intimidating. I want Death Eaters to fear them too."

"They could at least wear some brighter colours," she added.

River just heard Lily sigh, but she had managed to refrain from saying anything.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Lily asked, changing the subject. "It's your birthday River, so you're in charge."

"Oh," she said in reply. She had spent the entire day too caught up with everything else, especially after that morning's news. "Eat cake and lay in bed?"

River just wanted to get up to their room, open her presents, and spend the night relaxing with Lily and Beth. Then try to put the memory of this birthday behind her.

Lily and Beth exchanged looks and nodded.

"Sure," Lily said, sounding uncertain, but feeling tired, River shook it off.

On the way back to the Gryffindor Tower thought, River's suspicions heightened, and Lily and Beth kept looking at her deviously and Lily kept checking her wristwatch.

"What are you both up to?" she asked nervously, stopping on the corridor, just before the common room.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"You've been acting weird since you asked what I wanted to do tonight..."

Lily and Beth glanced at one another, both clearly trying to come up with some response without telling the truth.

"OH!" said Beth. "THAT!" She looked at Lily, nodding.

"We just set something up for your Birthday is all," said Lily, opening and closing her mouth as she thought on the spot. "Nothing big. Don't worry."

"O...K..." River replied, following the girls as they continued to the portrait hole.

As they entered the Common Room, the 'Nothing Big' statement was clearly a lie and a big one at that. There was a banner reading: "Happy Birthday Storme!" and most of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh years were wearing party hats and using party blowers.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They all cheered. Lily and Beth grinning deviously.

River blushed and shook her head, her heart racing, not with panic, but with a strong appreciation of her friends and house. Partly annoyed with Lily and Beth, but this was a nice distraction after the day they had all had.

"Thank you..." she muttered. "... You really didn't have to."

"We wanted to," Sirius stepped forward. "You've had the shittest time out of all of us. And to quote Dumbledore: We have all got to stand together. And we agreed that a Birthday Party for you was a good place to start."

"He's been planning this for the past week," said Remus, putting his arm around Sirius. "The fifth years have been making the sign. The seventh years helped with all the bunting. Even McGonagall and Dumbledore helped with music and food." He pointed at a long table that was filled with bottles of butterbeer, sweets, and cakes from the kitchen.

"You... guys..." River muttered, trying to blink back tears and she smiled. "You could have given me a warning..."

"I know you hate surprises," said Lily, wrapping her arm around River's shoulders.

"But after this morning," Sirius added.

"We knew you need this to cheer you up," Beth finished.

River looked around at the lot of them who seemed rather pleased with themselves and the other Gryffindors who were smiling at her. Even Sirius and James' little fan club were happy to be there.

"Can I..." she began.

"... Have some cake?" said Beth.

"... Get changed out of my uniform?" she laughed.

The music was in full swing by the time River entered their dorm room and sat on her bed. Lily and Beth remained downstairs as they wanted cake.

River smiled and laid back; remembering she had a pile of presents to open at the end of the bed from that morning. She sat up and opened the largest parcel first. It was filled with a selection of Muggle gadgets Mr. and Mrs Evans had gotten for her. They knew how much they interested her. One was a circular thing made of wood with a long string wrapped around it. The words: 'YO-YO' were painted onto both sides.

The second parcel was from Beth and Lily, who had gotten her a large selection of sweets, makeup and an odd smelling perfume.

Mr and Mrs Wirral, Beth's parents, had given her a lovely short black dress, as they knew she hated wearing bright colours. And Mr and Mrs Blott had gotten her more of Martha's lovely baking as a thick coat for winter.

Finally, the last parcel and card. The card reading: 'Open first'. She peeled the envelop open carefully and a card and letter fell into her lap. She ignored the card and opened the letter as she recognised the handwriting. Her heart began to pounding hard against her ribs and she held the peace of parchment in her hands.

"My Darling Daughter,

Today is your seventeenth birthday, the most important Birthday of your life. If you are reading this, unfortunately, your father and I have most likely been killed in our work. We knew it was a possibility, we knew there was a chance you would be left without us one day. But we are grateful for the time we had with you. We are proud of your resilience, proud of the witch you are becoming.

We left this letter, gift and card with a good friend of ours and they promised to send this at the right time..."

She flipped over the letter, but there was nothing else written on the parchment. She looked in the envelope and card but could not find anything.

She sighed, realising that her mother had probably not put the other sheet of parchment in by accident and it was most likely still at her old house.

There was a lump in her throat, part of her wanted to cry with sadness and the other with happiness. She now knew that she'd have to return to her old home at some point to find the letter, but now wasn't the time. She desperately wanted to read the other half of the letter, just to feel some connection to her parents again. But she was still ridden with anxiety at the thought of crossing the Threshold of her old home. She took a few deep breaths, reminding herself that she was still at Hogwarts with her friends nearby.

Her eyes fell on the small gift and she hurried to open it. It was a thin silver watch with her name inscribed on the inside, a common gift for Witches and Wizards on their seventeenth birthday. She put it on and smiled.

River sat on her bed for a little longer, trying to calm herself and prepare herself. After a few minutes, she threw on her new black skater dress and a pair of black tights and shoes and made her way to the door.

"Love you Mum and Dad," she muttered, looking back at the letter and card.


	8. The Gryffindor Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River celebrates her birthday in the best way possible... having her first kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (11/11/2020)  
> Edited: (21/11/2020)

The party was in full swing when River arrived. A few people from the other houses joined the common room, which oddly felt a lot bigger. River assumed that may have had something to do with an expansion spell.

She was waved over by Beth and Lily who were in their usual favourite corner, holding a bottle of Butterbeer each. Beth handed one to River as she joined them, watching as the party unfolded. Remus and Peter were stood by the food and drinks, Sirius and James on the sofas by the fireplace, talking to their little fan club. Apparently, they were not joking about keeping their options open.

River felt that same annoying twinge in her stomach as she watched the girls laugh at everything Sirius said and the girl with James was practically sitting on his lap. She rolled her eyes, but did not say anything, even though it was extremely tempting.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Lily, talking a little louder than usual, trying to be heard over the talking and music. "Professor McGonagall put a notice up. Sixth and Seventh years can go to Hogsmeade this weekend still, as most are of age. It says there is going to be plenty of Aurors and teachers in the village. So, your date with Dean can go ahead as planned tomorrow."

River gave an awkward smile. She had hardly even spoken to Dean since he asked her on a date. The only time he spoke to her again was three days later when the Hogsmeade trip was announced.

He didn't exactly ask her to go, he told her he'd meet her at the entrance, and they'd go to Madam Puddifoot's. A place she kind of dreaded going. She had heard only horror stories from Lily and Beth when they went with two boys during valentine's day during their fourth year. And River had walked by the café enough times to know it was not somewhere she would enjoy going. But it was the place couples went to, and if Dean liked it, she probably would too.

"Someone's nervous," said Beth, smirking.

"Well you know I've never kissed a boy," she replied, taking a swig of her Butterbeer. "And I know it's probably going to happen now."

"Just close your eyes and go with the flow," said Beth, pulling a kissy face and winking.

"That's easy for you to say!" said River, sighing.

"Meaning..." Beth looked a little offended.

"Well you have kissed a fair few of the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor boys," Lily added, smirking.

Beth tried to find the words to defend herself but sighed and shrugged.

"Shame I haven't kissed Dean," she replied, grinning. "I could give you a warning if he was bad at it."

River and Lily laughed.

"I could always ask Hanna Zabini," River tried to keep a straight face as she spoke, but her cheeks started to hurt, holding it back.

"If you want to die," said Lily. "Be my guest."

"Plus, I can't imagine Hanna would have anything positive to say about Dean," Beth added. "Apart from being positive that she hates him."

Peter and James appeared from the crowd and made their way over. Peter a little red in the face, and James wearing that smug grin as he had managed to pry himself away from his admirers, all of who, were now draped around Sirius. River managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes again, but her stomach still gave the annoying and uncomfortable twinge.

"Miss Evans, could I please have this dance?" James held out his hand and winked at River and Beth.

Lily hesitated. "Did your little pet not want to dance with you?" she nodded at Sirius and the girls.

James glanced behind him and shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't ask."

"Go on Lily," said Beth. "One dance won't kill you."

Lily got to her feet and shrugged. "One dance. And no touching below the waist!"

"I can work with that," James replied, taking it as a win. He took Lily's hand and they quickly disappearing into the crowd of dancing students.

Peter then muttered something to Beth, and she beamed, holding his hand as they vanished into the crowd as well.

River tool another swig of Butterbeer as she watched her friends enjoy themselves, dancing to some Muggle music. Sirius was also enjoying himself, now dancing with the three girls who adored him, all three forcing one another out of the way to get closer to him. River would have found it funny if it wasn't so odd. She couldn't imagine being like that with Lily or Beth. All going after the same boy and practically fighting for his attention.

She felt another twinge in her stomach as one of the girls put her arms around Sirius' neck.

"Dancing not your thing?" Remus appeared and sat beside her in the cosy corner, drinking what appeared to be fire-whisky.

"I think I'm avoiding it out of habit," said River. "... Part of me knows nothing will happen, but in the back of my mind I'm worried about rumours and what they lead to."

"I remember the last time there was a Gryffindor party. Lily and Beth dragged you down the stairs and Oliver Smith started dancing next to you. I won't forget the sound of that slap as he tried to kiss you," said Remus, taking a drink of his whisky.

"The only part I remember is how spiteful he was the next day," said River, sighing and shaking her head. "I remember hearing about the number of boys I apparently invited up to my dorm room. It's odd that anyone actually believed it, considering boys can't get up the stairs."

"They'll believe anything in this place as long as it's not about them," said Remus, putting his arm around her and smiling.

"Now, now Remus," River replied grinning. "Don't want there to be a rumour about us now do we?"

She glanced over at Sirius again, this time the other girl had barged her friend out of the way and was draped over him, her face inches from his. The girl leaned forward and tried to kiss him, but Sirius was too caught up in dancing and almost head butted the girl, who took a step back and was replaced by her friend.

Remus looked in the direction River was and raised his brow.

"Pathetic, isn't it..." said Remus. "Sirius and his little groupies."

"Could be worse I suppose," she replied. "He could actually be dating one."

Remus shrugged and drank some more whisky.

"Just you wait," he said. "He dates at least one girl a year and it's normally one of those in his fan club."

"Well those girls hate me, Lily and Beth. So, it might make for some awkward dinner time conversation," she said, leaning a little more towards Remus. Feeling happy that she at least had him around, knowing he was not overly fond of parties and dancing too.

"That reminds me," said Remus, fiddling around in his jacket pocket and pulling out a small box with a bow. "Happy Birthday."

"Remus you really didn't have to," said River, blushing as she took the small box.

He just grinned and watched as she opened it. It was a circular pendant on a silver chain. The pendant had, what looked like a quarter of the moon on it, shining brightly.

"It changes as the moon changes," he said. "I thought it was quite clever."

River smiled at Remus, giving him a hug, then putting the silver chain around her neck.

"Well at least I'll know when the werewolves are out," she joked, looking down at the quarter moon.

"Best to stay inside on those nights," Remus replied, grinning.

River and Remus happily continued chatting in the corner. That one dance with James had turned into at least seven, and Lily looked like she was really enjoying herself. It may have been down to James toning it down on the flirting and overly jealous behaviour this year. Remus said James had done some growing up over the summer and realised bullying Severus out of jealousy was probably not the way to go. Apparently even Sirius had started leaving Severus alone, which was a very grown up thing for him.

At Eight O'clock the portrait swung open and Dean Woods with his friends Cole and Matthew entered the Common Room. Dean went over to the fair corner and poured himself some fire-whisky and sat down with the boys, talking away. He hadn't even seen River yet.

"James did invite him," said Remus, who seemed to be responding to River's puzzled expression. "But you know what Woods is like with James."

"He probably turned up later to prove a point to James," she replied grinning. "Something to do what not wanting to listen to Potter."

"Honestly, they got along fine until last year," said Remus. "Then Dean started to take Quidditch a lot more seriously and obviously James just enjoyed doing it for fun. I think James losing out on the Quidditch Captaincy was the final nail in the coffin after that."

"Boys..." River sighed. "At least girls fall out over none sport related things."

"Like boys?" said Remus.

"Exactly," she laughed.

As they sat talking comfortably waiting for any one of their friends to return, Remus, River noticed, kept glancing nervously in the direction of Dean and his friends. When she finally looked over their herself, Dean Woods was sat glaring at the pair of them. Muttering something to his friend.

"He doesn't think..." she said, looking from Remus to Dean.

"Seems like it," Remus removed his arm from around her shoulders and sighed.

"Should I..." she paused, looking to Remus for some answer. "... Go and talk to him...?"

"Might be wise," Remus sighed. "I don't want him getting the wrong idea. Nor anyone else for that matter." Remus moved his legs letting her pass.

River walked around the crowd of dancing students and toward Dean, who's expression suddenly turned cheery. His friend Cole wandered off into the crowd as River sat beside him.

"Hey," he said, in his deep voice. "Having fun?"

"It's not really my kind of thing," said River, raising her voice a little more as the music got louder. "I appreciate it. But I'm more of a cup of tea and reading a good book kind of person."

"Well... Do you want to go somewhere else?" he asked, nodding his head at the portrait hole.

"Erm..." River paused, looking around at the crowd who clearly would not miss them and Remus who was now sat with an out of breath Lily. "Sure."

He took her hand and lead her toward the portrait hole. She caught Lily's eye on the way out and she was grinning and giving her a thumbs up. They stepped into the nice and cool corridor and they wandered around for a few minutes, Dean talking about Quidditch.

River was already starting to feel nervous; she could feel her palms getting sweaty, her heart was racing, and her mind was overthinking. He finally stopped in a deserted corridor and rested against the wall, talking hold of both of River's hands so she was looking up to him.

"So..." he grinned. "What do you want for your birthday from me?"

River knew exactly what she should say, but the words were not coming out. In fact, she probably looked mental right now. She was stood with her mouth open and a look of shock on her face. A sound escaped her lips and Dean looked taken aback. Anyone would have, she sounded like a mixture of a dying cat as a pig.

"What?"

River cleared her throat and shook her head. She smiled at him.

"A kiss," she said, trying to save the situation.

Dean smirked and leaned in. River did exactly what Beth had told her, close her eyes and go with the flow. As Dean's lips met hers there was a few brief seconds of fireworks before they were rudely interrupted by heavy rain... torrential rain in fact.

It felt as though he was trying to eat River's lips. It was a miracle he hadn't managed to bite of his own tongue during the process. River kept hers firmly in her mouth, worried he might cause some serious injury.

When they pulled apart, Dean looked rather pleased with himself and River smiled back awkwardly, not like her could tell.

"That was great," he said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

River lips were aching, and she just muttered. "Sure was," letting go of his hands and giving him a thumbs up.

He tried to lean in again, but River stopped him.

"Woah their big guy," she joked. "Save some for tomorrow."

Dean grinned from ear to ear and put his arm around her. "Yeah, you're right." He escorted her back to the Gryffindor common room. He kissed her cheek when they were inside and he wandered away to his friend Cole, River assumed to tell him how great of a kisser he was.

River turned to the corner were Lily, Remus and James were sat and her face dropped. James seemed to be laughing as she approached them, and his first word was:

"Teeth?"

"How did you know?!" River exclaimed in a loud whisper, taking her seat beside Remus again, prodding her lips which were a little sore.

"Everyone on the team has heard about his technique," James replied.

"Experienced it yourself, have you?" Lily asked, grinning.

"What happens in Quidditch stays in Quidditch," he winked at Lily. "But I'd honestly rather stab myself in my eye with my wand."

Remus was watching River as she continued to prod her lips and wincing at the faint pain, they were now in. She sighed, remembering the date she would have with him tomorrow and the possibility of kissing him again. But she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, she wasn't going to change her mind based on a kiss. Dean was nice and it wasn't as though she couldn't speak to him about his technique later down the line.

"Oh, for the love of..." James moaned, looking into the crowd.

River and the others followed his eye. At first River thought he was looking at a very cosy Beth and Peter, but no. He was looking at Sirius and one of his fan club with her arms wrapped around one another, sucking one another's faces off, both still swaying to the song.

This time the twinge was more like an uncomfortable somersault in her stomach as she looked at the pair of them.

"Idiot," Remus muttered.

"Well..." River replied, catching her breath.

"He has about as much common sense as a dog sometimes," said James, making Remus grin.

"I'm not sitting with another one of them though," said Remus. "All they want to talk about is Sirius. I get his apparently handsome, but he's about as interesting as Mrs. Norris."

"Jealous, are we Remus?" Lily replied, grinning.

"I'm happy being single, thank you very much," he replied smugly.

"No woman will ever get into his pants," said James, winking at Lily and River. "But if either of you want to try. It'll be somewhat amusing."

"Alright love, calm down!" They heard Sirius say over the music, trying to push the girl off himself. "We'll talk later."

She walked back to her friends and they were all glaring at her, but she was extremely proud of herself.

"Well... well... well..." said James. "Look what the cat dragged in."

Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes, dropping onto the seat beside River and putting his arm around her. She twitched uncomfortably, and felt that same annoying twinge in her stomach, but this time it was ten times worse.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked with a wink.

"Not nearly as much as you," she replied sarcastically, trying to look happy to see him.

"It'd be rude to say no," he said, glancing over at the group of girls. "She'd probably hex me if I did anyway."

"You know," said Lily, getting to her feet. "I think I'll call it a night. Are you coming River?"

"Yeah," she replied, brushing Sirius off her and getting to her feet. "I have my date with Dean tomorrow anyway."

River followed Lily to bed after thanking the boys for their hard work. As she got to the stairs, she saw Sirius out of the corner of her eye going over to that same girl again, which for some reason, made her feel worse.

As they got into their dorm room, they changed into their pyjamas and climbed into bed, talking about Dean and his kissing technique.

River laid in bed that night with a lot of situations going through her mind, but the one thing she kept going back to was Sirius kissing that girl.


	9. Madam Puddifoot's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What could possibly go wrong when Sirius turns up on River's first date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (14/11/2020)  
> Edited: (21/11/2020)

Beth and Lily walked down to the entrance hall with River the next morning, as they intended to go to the Three Broomsticks whilst she was with Dean.

"Let's just hope you come back with your tongue," Beth said with a grin.

"I'm not holding up too much hope," said River, grinning awkwardly as she glanced at her watch. "I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks if we finished early."

"I think the idea of a date Riv..." Lily began. "Is to spend the entire thing with the person who asked you."

The girls reassured her that everything was going to be fine, and if it wasn't, they were already listing the new hexes they hadn't had a chance to try out on anyone yet.

"You'll have a good time," said Beth, giving River a hug.

"Just tell us everything when you're back," Lily added, hugging her as well.

The girls waved and went over to Filch, signing themselves out. They continued to wave and look back at her as she stood waiting and the moment she couldn't see them anymore her chest felt tight.

She stood by the large oak doors waiting for Dean, whilst the other sixth and seventh years passed by, greeting her and wishing her a Happy Birthday from the previous day.

Part of her was wondering what was going to happen on the date, the other part, still lingering on the thought of Sirius. For some reason this was buzzing around her head like a fly that would not leave her alone. When she finally fell asleep last night, she kept having dreams about Sirius kissing that girl and that girl turning into a three headed dog. Apparently having too much sugar before bed was not her brightest idea.

"Hi," said Dean.

River shot around and forced the subject of Sirius out of her mind. Dean was dressed in a shirt and tie, with his red and gold Quidditch jacket over the top. He had even made his hair nice and tidy and shaved his stubble. He looked very handsome as he gave her a big smile.

"Hi," she said. "You look, erm... Nice."

"I try," he replied, looking her up and down. "So, do you."

They looked at each other for a moment before Dean took hold of her hand and started to walk her towards Filch. After a nasty glare from Filch and some mumbling about trouble causing, they were finally setting off for Hogsmeade, taking a well-deserved break from the school.

River felt somewhat relieved being out in the fresh air, listening to Dean ramble on about Quidditch.

It was a sunny and calm sort of day for once, after two weeks of rain and misery.

The ground was still damp, but the birds were singing, and the students ahead seemed ecstatic to be outside of school. It was a nice distraction for River. To take her mind off recent events. Yet one thing she noticed was the amount of Aurors and Ministry Officials that were dotted along the path to Hogsmeade.

"Weird isn't it," said Dean, who was glancing at one of the less pleasant looking Ministry women.

"Hmm..." River replied, looking up at Dean.

"That the Minister honestly thinks that You Know Who and his followers will come here," he said. "Why would he go after a school?"

"The Minister thinks he'll try to hold student's hostage," River said, wisely.

Dean looked puzzled.

"My parents told me that it's been a concern for years," she continued. "Auror's have been posted in Hogsmeade since my first year. The Minister just never told anyone. I used to see Mum and Dad during Hogsmeade trips sometimes. They always said there was a chance You Know Who would use the students against their parents to do his bidding. He has before. Do you remember the Shacklebolt case?"

Dean shrugged and shook his head.

"Well, one of the Death Eaters abducted the son and daughter of Miriam and Martin Shacklebolt to try and get them to relay Ministry information," she said sadly. "They informed the Ministry, and their daughter was killed. Their son, I think he is called Kingsley, was found a few weeks later. I think he's just joined the Ministry himself now as an Auror."

"Dad doesn't like me reading the Daily Profit or listening to the Ministry too much," Dean replied, shrugging off the story. "He's a Muggle, so he'd rather I keep my political and news opinions in the Muggle World."

"What about your Mum?" River asked.

"Oh, she ran off with some Wizard," Dean explained, acting as though this was a common thing. "Dad said she was too caught up with the Magic lot. Obviously, he was not best pleased when he found out I was a Wizard. But he doesn't mind too much now. He thinks Quidditch is a lot like Football, and he loves his Football."

The subject of Quidditch carried them the rest of the way down the drive and through the gates. River was quite happy just to listen, and she didn't exactly have much to say at the best of times. She preferred listening to others, especially after the past few months.

"Have you been to Madam Puddifoot's before?" Dean asked as they entered Hogsmeade. The Highstreet was emptier than normal, with Aurors and Ministry officials dotted outside of the shops. Most students were heading towards the Three Broomsticks, eyeing the nastier looking Aurors with suspicion.

River shook her head and he pulled her in the direction of the pink shop at the far end of the street.

Posters had been stuck up in a few windows, declaring the Ministry was at war, as well as a few new rules in the village. There was also a list of wanted Death Eaters and a list of Ministry contacts.

It was odd seeing this outside of the school and not written in a letter or as an article in the Daily Profit. It suddenly hit River that this was very real, and the Magical World was doing everything possible to keep people alive and safe.

"Here it is," said Dean.

He led her inside of the small pink tea shop. It was a cramped, steamy little place where everything seemed to have been decorated with frills and bows.

"Always a good place for a date," Dean said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Erm... Yeah," River replied, following him through the circular tables, where there sat a few familiar faces on dates.

They sat down on the last remaining table, which was in the far corner by the till.

"Do you like it?" Dean asked her, looking extremely pleased with his choice of location.

"Yeah," she lied. "It's definitely, something."

She looked up at the ceiling to see little magical bubble hearts flying around. When they popped, they turned into red and pink glitter, sprinkling down, vanishing the moment it touched whatever was below. The walls had an array of pink cups and plates and the windows we steamy hearts drawn on them, most likely by other couples.

"Hem-hem."

River glanced at the table beside them and did a double take. Sat there was the girl River saw eating Sirius' face that previous night. The girl was sat alone, with two cups of what appeared to be coffee. Well she clearly was... Something. Snogging Sirius twelve hours ago and now on a date. River ignored her and turned back to Dean.

"What can I get you m'dears?" said Madam Puddifoot, a very stout woman with a shiny black bun, looking over the till at the pair of them.

"Two coffees, please," said Dean.

Dean kept staring at River and she just kept awkwardly smiling back. Not completely sure what she should talk to him about, she went for the most obvious subject and turned it back to Quidditch.

"When is your next match?" she asked.

The girl beside them now realised River was next to her and she gave River a bit of a frown. River ignored her, deciding to be the bigger person.

Dean paused for a moment, thinking. He was about to answer, when...

"Sorry about that," said a familiar voice, sitting down opposite the girl, whose face now lit up.

"No problem Siri," she replied, looking from River to Sirius with some devious smirk on her face.

Sirius glanced at River and smiled but didn't say anything. Almost like he expected to see her here.

He took hold of his dates hand. She flushed red and they continued to discuss her favourite subject. Sirius.

The sudden twinge of annoyance started again, but worse than before.

"We're playing against Hufflepuff next week," Dean said. "Think we have a decent shot of winning with me in charge."

Sirius scoffed, and Dean shot a look at him, as did River.

"Got a problem, Siri?" Dean asked, glaring at him.

Sirius just shrugged and shook his head. "Just heard what the team really think about you is all."

He refused to meet Rivers' eye, and just kept giving Dean his usual smug look when he knew he was getting to someone. The girl sat with Sirius was also giving River a horrible look, as though she was enjoying this.

"Should we go somewhere else Dean?" River asked him, trying to make sure no one would say anything they would regret.

"No," he looked back to River, smiling. He took hold of her hand and ignored Sirius and his date. "As I was saying, I hope we'll win anyway. There's a high chance they'll be scouts coming this year and I'd love to be in the Professional Quidditch League."

"I bet you would," Sirius mumbled under his breath.

"Meaning?" Dean gave Sirius a dirty look.

"I've seen you play mate," Sirius winked as he replied.

"I don't care what you think," said Dean, calmly. "You're just mad Potter didn't end up as Captain."

"Yeah well, at least James didn't have to sleep his way to the top," spat Sirius.

Dean shot to his feet, as did Sirius. Sirius was somewhat shorter and not as built as Dean was.

"Sirius, piss off," River said, getting to her feet and putting her hand on Dean's chest to stop him from doing something stupid.

"Don't you speak to him like that!" The girl snapped at River.

The entire café had gone quiet and couples had stopped kissing one another to watch the four of them. River felt her cheeks flush pink.

"And you are?" River scoffed at the girl, who was still giving a wicked grin.

"None of your business!" The girl snapped again. "But I know who you are. The Gryffindor whore!"

At this point River even heard a few of the people in the café call the girl a bitch along with a few other things. Dean looked lost for words, not sure how to react and Sirius looked from the girl to River.

"How charming," River shrugged and replied, used to this after five years, but now it didn't affect her anywhere near as much as it once did. River looked at Sirius. "Well if you have nothing to say about this, I guess we'll be going."

She took hold of Dean's hand and led him out of the café into the street. It wasn't long before they were joined by a Hufflepuff girl Abelle Abbott and her date Eve Robins.

"Hey River," said Abelle, smiling sweetly.

"Hi..." River replied, not sure how to react.

"I'll report her when we're back," said Abelle, looking between Dean and herself. "She called Primrose. She has been reported to me a lot about bullying, but I have never witnessed it myself. She'll have a fun time explaining this to McGonagall with a room full of witnesses."

River was taken aback by the kindness and wasn't sure how to respond. "I don't know what to say," she muttered.

"Just go and enjoy the rest of your date," Eve spoke up, taking Abelle's hand and smiling.

"Thank you," said River.

Both girls went back inside of the café and Dean exchanged a look with River, he seemed somewhat sorry about what had happened. But it wasn't his fault. She had no idea Sirius would be there and she had no idea he would be in such a foul mood.

"What do you think we should do?" River asked him, trying to take their minds off what just happened.

"Do you want to go and look in the shops?" he asked.

River smiled and they wandered towards Zonko's Joke shop, Honeydukes and Dervish and Banges. Once they had well and truly exhausted walking around the village and shops, they walked towards the Shrieking Shack and stood holding hands whilst they looked at the run down house, which was apparently the most haunted building in Britain.

They stood in silence for a while. River was just happy to take in the sun and fresh air, away from the hundreds of students at the school.

She was soon distracted when Dean pressed his lips to hers and started moving them in such a way, it felt like he was battling her mouth.

She tried to press on. It wasn't like she could say anything, having no experience previously, but somehow, she always felt like kissing would have been somewhat less painful.

When Dean finally pulled away, he once again looked pleased with himself.

River could feel how raw her lips felt in the fresh air and she just smiled back awkwardly.

"We should head back soon," she said, glancing at the village nearby.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean brushed it off, wrapping his large arms around her waist to kiss her again, this time more passionately. He pulled her closer, and River just rested her hands on his shoulders, unsure what to do.

"OI!" A voice called over. "Get back to the school!"

They parted and looked at the Ministry man who was waving his arms in their direction. Dean laughed and River looked embarrassed. She was still somewhat relieved though, that the Ministry man had stopped him from kissing her.

Dean took her hand, and they made their way back through the village and along the path towards the school.

When they entered the Gryffindor common room, Sirius was nowhere to be seen, fortunately for River, but Remus was sat reading in River's usual corner.

Dean muttered something, toothily kissed her on the cheek and wandered off to join his friends.

River joined Remus, who was pleased to see her after spending the day in the tower alone with the younger years. He lowered his book as she sat down opposite.

"Fun date?" he asked, grinning.

Her face suddenly dropped just thinking about how it had started. She explained everything to Remus, which he looked just as angry as she did.

"... Then, she called me the Gryffindor Whore, and Sirius didn't have the guts to say anything to her. He just stood there in silence."

"Bloody prick," said Remus. "What the hell is he playing at? He knew you were going to Madam Puddifoot's today."

The portrait swung open and Sirius appeared, freezing the moment he saw River and Remus.

"Riv..." he muttered.

"It appears I'm in need of my old potions partner back," she turned to Remus. "What do you say Remus?"

He frowned at Sirius and smiled at River.

"Sure."

River said goodbye to Remus and went towards the girl dormitory, leaving Sirius to deal with Remus.


	10. Love is in the... Air?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River and Sirius try and mend their friendship, whilst River sees what Dean is really like as a Boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proofread Once: (14/11/2020)  
> Edited: (22 /11/2020)

The following couple of weeks was an awkward affair. River, Lily, Beth, and Remus refused to speak to Sirius. James and Peter were trying their best to resolve the issues, but even they agreed Sirius was a complete pratt.

Sirius had apologised more than once, but River was still angry with him. It did not help that the vile girl Primrose practically followed him around like a lost puppy. She had been given two weeks’ worth of detentions, but that seemed worth it because Sirius and River weren't speaking to one another.

During the evenings, River sat in the Common Room with Dean, who was less than interested in doing work, and more interested in kissing. He also seemed to have memorised her timetable, and he would turn up between lessons, putting his arm around her and dragging her away from her friends. It was sweet at first, but his determination to spend time together was interfering with her homework, which she now found herself staying up until the early morning to finish.

The first few days together was fun and romantic, at least that's what she thought, but his behaviour started to get weirdly possessive and controlling. He was definitely the jealous type and liked to know where she was at all times. When she asked why he just said it was because he cared about her.

She was starting to get a little annoyed with him, and her lips still hurting a lot, even though she had tried to talk to him about that, which resulted in an argument and silent treatment from him for a couple of days.

Maybe I've rushed into this, River thought to herself as the second week drew to a close and she was finding the relationship to be more of a task than anything and the girls had a slight hunch, but she thought it best to keep it to herself.

When they entered their potions lesson that Monday afternoon, Slughorn beamed at the lot of them, as though desperate to tell them something. River took her seat beside Remus and they both looked at one another, grinning. She caught Sirius' eye and he tried to give her a weak smile. Instead of a surge of anger, this time, she felt that annoying twinge in her stomach again. It was back, after two weeks of peace. She returned the faint smile, knowing she had not forgiven him just yet, but that was enough to perk Sirius up.

"I have wonderful news!" beamed Slughorn, holding his arms out, practically jumping for joy. "I have a very special guest coming to the Christmas Party I hold annually, a special guest with a lot of power in the Ministry. Today I will be holding a little friendly competition, for eight invitations to my party and a chance to meet with a very important Ministry member."

The Slytherin's all muttered to one another, looking somewhat excited, as did the few Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students in their class. James and Sirius shrugged, fully aware that their chance was slim. River looked at Remus and he seemed to understand immediately.

"Sirius," River muttered.

He looked back aback being address by her.

"Swap seats with Remus," she said, looking between Sirius and James, who were both surprised you had said his name and spoken to him.

"I... Alright..." he said, collecting his things and swapping with Remus.

James was thrilled to have Remus back, finally, someone who could help him with potions work and Sirius was quite pleased with himself.

"So!" Slughorn continued. "For this, I require you to start your potion this lesson, leave it to settle over the next two days, during that time you will be writing an essay about its effects and how it can be used, then finishing it on Thursday morning. The potion I am asking you to make is the Invisibility Potion. Awfully tricky potion, but I have faith you will all be successful in your endeavors. You may begin the first half of the potion... now!"

"So... am I forgiven...?" Sirius asked awkwardly, podding the wood beneath the cauldron with his wand and igniting it.

River smirked. "Help me win and we'll see."

Sirius nodded and wandered off to get the Spider Legs, Chicken Beaks and Berry Seeds they would need for the potion. River started their work by adding the first few ingredients in and stirring it the right amount of times before Sirius returned.

"Grind them up in the mortar," she muttered. "This all need to be a fine, light grey powered."

Sirius nodded enthusiastically and worked harder than River had even seen him work before. Even James was helping, and Remus was shocked and impressed. Apparently, James and Sirius hadn't enjoyed working together over the past two weeks and missed having a couple of capable hands to guide them in the right direction.

As the end of the lesson drew near, River and Sirius' potion was the right colour of bright pink, as was James and Remus'. River glanced at a few other tables and only three other teams had managed to get the right shade, Lily and Severus being one of them and unfortunately the others were Slytherins, including Bellatrix.

After the lesson River and Sirius agreed to meet up in the library the next evening to do their essay on the Invisibility Potion, as River already had plans with Dean that evening.

"Speak of the devil..." muttered Sirius, as his looked up at Dean, standing in the corridor outside of her Potions lesson. "See you later Riv," Sirius waved as he and the others walked away towards the Great Hall.

Dean leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, putting his arm around her again and pulling her close.

"Why are you talking to him again?" he asked, glaring at Sirius who was just ahead. "I thought you hated him?"

"I don't hate him," said River, truthfully. "We're working together in potions again..."

Dean frowned and looked at her.

"Why?" he sounded a little annoyed.

River just shrugged and felt uncomfortable replying. In fact, this was not the first time. When Dean was annoyed about anything, it was best to keep her mouth shut and listen to him moan and ramble. One of his favourite subjects was his dislike for James Potter, and he had spent their second date by the lake, complaining about him for a good solid hour.

"I asked you a question," Dean snapped, as they got to the stairs.

"We're friends Dean," said River, as calmly as she could. "Friends have arguments and fall out. He said sorry and now we're fine."

Dean scoffed, which irritated River. She had to keep telling herself that this was normal, all part of the relationship process, Beth said a bit of jealousy was normal.

"Whatever..." he sighed.

As they entered the Great Hall, he told her to sit beside him and his friends. She did as she was told and ate her dinner in silence as Dean, Cole and Matthew spoke about Quidditch and the girl Cole had just started seeing. The 'Hot' Hufflepuff Emmeline Vance, in River's year.

"I went on a date with her last year," Dean added, glancing at River, seeming to want a reaction. "Before Hanna stepped in. Decent kisser as well as a few other things." Dean winked and Cole and Matthew laughed.

"Bit more frigid with me," muttered Cole, with a smirk.

River rolled her eyes and tried to press on eating her dinner. Looking at her friends a few seats away, enjoying themselves as they ate dinner and spoke about their day. Lily glanced at River and saw she looked miserable. Thankfully, she was a good friend and stepped in to help.

"Riv," Lily said, calling down the table. "Are you ready to finish our Defence work?"

Dean shot a look at Lily and then at River.

"Yeah, sure," River replied, leaving most of her food untouched and receiving a nasty look from Dean. He grabbed her wrist tightly before she had a chance to leave with Lily.

"You said you were free tonight," Dean muttered, angrily.

"I had Defence today and we've got homework to do by tomorrow," she lied, shaking her wrist away from him.

"Fine," he snapped back quietly so only she could here.

He let go of her and she joined Lily, rubbing her wrist with her other hand and sighing and they got into the entrance hall.

"Want to go for a walk?" Lily suggested, nodding towards the grounds just beyond the door.

River sighed in relief and they linked arms, making their way toward the grounds and Hagrid's Hut. For the first time in two weeks, she had a relaxing feeling take over her, finally being able to spend an evening away from kissing and nasty looks towards James and Sirius aimed at Dean.

"I think you need to tell me the truth about dating him," said Lily, who looked very concerned. “Because clearly there’s something you're not telling any of us.”

She'd brought it up previously, as River's face normally dropped when Dean took her away from her friends and she never seemed to look overly thrilled when she entered the dorm at night, having to sit with him until nearly midnight, when she normally clambered into bed around Ten O’clock.

"I don't really know what to say..." River began as they took a seat on a bench near the forest, looking towards Hagrid's Hut and the smoke emerging from the chimney. "He was fine at first," she began. "But since we made it official just after Hogsmeade, he's so..."

"...Controlling?" Lily added. “Needy… Annoying… Rude…?

River looked awkward. "Well... yeah."

"I wasn't going to say anything," said Lily, sighing. "But Hanna Zabini brought it up a few days back at one of the Prefect Meetings."

River's ears perked up, intrigued by what Hanna Zabini would have to say about her Ex-Boyfriend River was now dating.

"Hanna said that Dean had a habit of being controlling," Lily began. "She said he used to get annoyed when she hung out with her friends. And I started to think. Last year Hanna was always in our common room and always at our table when she dated Dean, and she never looked overly thrilled. I thought it was because she was sat with Gryffindors, but maybe it was because she was with Dean."

River felt a lump in her throat and was not completely sure how to react to this information. It was plausible, completely plausible, but at the same time, this was coming from Hanna Zabini, a girl who was vile to River. Yet, at the same time, Hanna did seem to have changed since the term started. She had spent a lot of time hanging out with the Hufflepuff seventh years, avoiding the Slytherin lot, and had even given Bellatrix and her younger brother Kaine detention for bullying other students.

"Maybe you're right," River sighed. "Dean was furious when he saw I was talking to Sirius again. But I don't want to break up with him over a bit of harmless jealously. Like Beth said."

Lily rolled her eyes and smirked. "Beth's take on relationships is a little odd. She loves the attention and loves teasing boys and flirting. Harmless jealousy..." Lily's face dropped. "... Doesn't result in arguments and making you feel like you've done something wrong. Did you feel like you'd done something wrong when you spoke to Sirius?"

River paused, feeling her heart race in her chest and her hands were shaking a little. "Honestly, I felt like I'd done something wrong just leaving the hall with you. I've hated being forced to sit with him and his friends, they don't speak to me."

Lily put her arm around River and pulled her close. "You're not alone Riv. If you're unhappy, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're not."

"I just don't want to deal with him tonight," River muttered, feeling a little more relieved.

"Leave that to me."

Lily escorted River to the Library and then Lily went to Gryffindor Tower to enact her plan.

Lily returned fifteen minutes later and hurried River back to Gryffindor Tower, hastily passing through the common room and hurrying her up the stairs of the Girls Dormitory. As she entered their dorm room, she threw her bag on the floor and sprawled on the bed, breathing a sigh of relief. Beth entered soon after with three bottles of butterbeer and some cake from the kitchens.

"Peter showed me how to get into the Kitchens," she said smirking.

"It's not the only thing he's been showing her," Lily added, laughing as Beth threw a pillow at her head.

"Oh really..." River said, sitting up and smirking slyly at Beth, who was now a furious shade of red, trying not to smile. "Out of all the boys in school, I didn't see you ending up dating Peter Pettigrew."

Beth handed River and Lily a bottle of butterbeer and placed the cake on her trunk. She sat beside River and sighed.

"Honestly," she began. "You're not the only one that's surprised. But we get along in lessons, we laugh and joke and he just makes me feel good about myself. Do you get what I mean?"

"I wish I did," muttered River.

She spent the evening talking to the girls and explaining to Beth everything that had happened. Beth put her arm around her and looked guilty, but River assured her she had no reason to be. River knew she should have been wise enough to see what Dean was really like.

"When Dean told me that Hanna was the one that was horrid to him, he seemed so genuine," said River, taking a sip of butterbeer.

"Of course, he did," Lily sighed. "You know what some of the boys are like in school. They're more than happy to make out like the girls are vile, just so they get sympathy from others."

"And how many girls have been after Dean since he said he had his heart 'broken' by Hanna?" added Beth.

"Dean likes to remind me he's had so many other girls after him," River rolled her eyes.

Lily and Beth looked taken aback.

"Why would you tell your girlfriend that other girls want you?!" spat Lily.

"He's allowed to talk about his escapades, but Merlin forbid you talk about your male friends," said Beth, frowning.

"And he's not even a good kisser," added Lily.

"Why are you with him again?" Beth joked, starting to remove her uniform and changing into her Pyjamas.

"He seemed nice... at first..." she muttered, feeling quite foolish.

For the first time in a couple of weeks, River was enjoying herself. Playing exploding snap with the girls. They even told her Sirius shouted at that Primrose girl a few nights back, as she kept hounding him and his friends and bitching about River at every given opportunity.

"She's just a jealous cow," said Lily as she climbed into bed later that night. "She was just as horrid to that Emily girl last year who Sirius went on a date with."

"Yeah, but..." Beth said, curling up in her own bed. "... River's not even interested in Sirius. So, she has no reason to be jealous."

River suddenly felt another twinge. This time it was not with annoyance at Sirius over some girl, but with guilt as she heard the line: "River's not even interested in Sirius." But why would she like Sirius Black? They were friends and she was happy being his friend. There were no complications if they were all just friends... but... Beth was starting to date Peter... Thinking of that made her suddenly feel hopeful. But why?

She laid there thinking long into the night. About dealing with Dean the next day and spending the evening in the library with Sirius writing their essay. She turned onto her side and looked out of the small window at the moonlit clouds, eventually nodding off.

***

What River enjoyed about Tuesdays, were the free mornings and only having Herbology and Charms in the afternoon. Both lessons of which, were enjoyable due to Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick.

As they came to the end of Charms, River and Sirius packed away their things and made their way to the library, bringing a packed lunch... dinner, with them. James had Quidditch practice, which meant River didn't have to worry about Dean's sudden appearance.

What River found during her time in the library is that Sirius had the attention span of a goldfish and struggled to pay attention to a book for more than a few seconds. It would be alright if he didn't try and distract her and make her laugh, which unfortunately he was succeeding in doing.

"Sirius come on," she said, grinning. "I really don't want to lose against Bellatrix and Dolohov."

He was sat with two pencils sticking out of his mouth, pretending to be something called a Walrus.

He sighed and smirked, removing the pencils and picking up his quill. He started writing again. A few minutes later he passed her a note.

River opened it and rolled her eyes. It read:

'Are you bored?'

And the words "Yes" and "No" below.

River circled "Yes" and passed it back. "Now help finish the essay," she added as he smiled and carried on reading the effects of the Invisibility Potion.

After a couple of hours of messing around and terrible Sirius Black jokes, they finished their essays. River rolled up the parchment and tucked it away in her bag. She looked at Sirius, who seemed relieved to have finished, because for some, very understandable reason, schoolwork made him tired. He got up, carrying River’s bag as well as his own and they both headed back to the common room.

"Where have you been?" an annoyed voice called to them as they started up the stairs. They both froze and turned around, Dean was stood in the entrance hall with his broomstick, clearly Quidditch practise was later tonight, which meant James would be unhappy finishing well past seven o’ clock.

He strode over, putting his arm around River, moving her away from Sirius a little. River caught Sirius rolling his eyes, but thankfully he kept his mouth shut.

"Library," she replied. "We had an essay to write for potions."

Dean looked at Sirius with his usual grimace and Sirius gave him a sly smirk, something that River would most likely hear about later.

"Right," said Dean, sounding irritated. "We can talk later Riv."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement, and it made her feel extremely anxious.

"Sure," she replied, sounding annoyed.

Dean mumbled something about Quidditch practice, kissed her on her temple and strode off to the entrance, leaving River and Sirius in peace.

They took the long route back to the common room, mainly so Sirius could talk about how he found Dean annoying, and the problem was, River agreed.

"I think I'm breaking up with him tonight," she whispered, just before they got back to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

Sirius stopped her in her tracks and looked at her, in a way he had never looked at her before. Almost like he really cared and was worried about her.

"It's all getting a bit too much," she continued, keeping her voice down. "I thought I'd enjoying dating him, but instead, I'd rather be alone than date someone like him."

Sirius wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug and for the first time, she felt butterflies in her stomach as he held her close.

"He's probably just not the right person for you," he said, wisely.

"And you would know...?" she joked as they pulled apart and looked at one another.

"Well," he muttered. "Don't see me dating anyone I hate do you?"

River rolled her eyes and she walked away, clambering through the portrait hole. She smiled at Remus and Peter as they sat around the fire. Sirius went to join them, looking oddly a little chipper than he had done before.

River went up to her dorm room to change out of her school clothes and to see if she could find Beth and Lily.


	11. The Fat Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When River tries to end her relationship with Dean, it doesn't go to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited: (22/11/2020)

Lily and Beth were clearly busy when River arrived in their dorm room. Lily was doing her hair and Beth was trying new things with makeup.

"Hey... guys..." said River, putting her bag down and catching one side of Beth's face which was covered in a very weirdly green shade of foundation and she was wearing a white/pink lipstick, which was rather... thick and gloopy.

"Does it really look that bad?" Beth asked, still trying to draw her eyebrows on.

Beth was a very beautiful girl. But River knew she was quite useless at doing makeup because she hardly wore it. River pulled a box out from under her bed which contained a large selection of makeup she had gotten from the girls for her birthday. She took out a clear bottle of foundation, a beautiful set of bright lipsticks, and the eyebrow pencils.

"Come here," said River, she waved her wand and removed the makeup, and started to apply the clear foundation which slowly turned to match her perfect dark skin.

She drew over Beth's eyebrows and applied the pale pink lipstick.

Beth looked in the mirror and beamed. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she jumped up and down as she hugged River tightly. "I'm heading for a walk with Peter, don't wait up!" She collected her pink coat and ran out of the door.

River smiled at her as she disappeared, suddenly remembering she had to speak to Dean later and her face dropped again, she started to feel sick.

"Hey Riv," said Lily, looking around as she tied the end of her braid with an orange hairband.

"I ran into Dean," she muttered. "Well... more like, he ran into me and Sirius."

Lily rolled her eyes and walked over, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Come on," she said cheerfully. "We'll join the boys in the common room until James and Dean are back. I can’t imagine Dean making a complete idiot of himself if we’re all in the room with him.”

Sirius and Remus were already comfy by the fireplace when River and Lily joined them. River sitting beside Sirius and Lily taking the free armchair. Sirius stretched out his arms and rested them on the back of the sofa and behind River's shoulders. Her stomach had butterflies again, and she grinned at him.

"How's the essay looking, Remus?" River asked.

"Oddly enough," Remus began. "James did most of the work. I read through it this morning and honestly. I've never seen something so well written and accurate."

River, Sirius, and Lily looked taken aback.

"Severus did ours," Lily said. "I offered to help, but he's basically an expert on Invisibility Potions. I thought it best to leave him to it this time."

“This one forced me into helping,” Sirius nodded in River’s direction, pulling a smug face. “Worked me like a House Elf.”

“All I recall is you being an idiot for a couple of hours.” River retorted.

“Kids… Kids,” Remus said grinning, looking between River and Sirius. “You’re both awful.”

“Gee thanks Mooney,” Sirius chuckled. “Real charmer you are, aren’t you?”

“I’m about as charming as a doorstop, Padfoot,” he replied.

“At least a doorstop is more charming that James and Sirius,” Lily added, looking between the two boys and pulling a cocky smirk.

“Well, well, Miss Evans,” said Sirius. “Aren’t we being rude this evening.”

“It’s not rude when it’s the truth… Siri…” River added, looking into his grey eyes and smirking.

Sirius scoffed and shook his head at hearing the nickname he had grown is despise. “I could charm the pants off of anyone if I wanted to.”

Lily and River grinned at one another.

“McGonagall…” Lily said bluntly.

Remus spat out his drink.

They talked for another hour or so before the seven Quidditch players entered the common room. By the look on James' face, Dean had clearly annoyed him more than usual.

Dean caught River's eye and stood there, as the other players except James went up to their dorm room, exhausted and annoyed. Dean looked from River to Sirius, frowning as he saw Sirius's arm on the back of the sofa.

"How was Quidditch?" River asked him, refusing to stand up. Something felt off and she really did not fancy being alone with him.

"Hopefully..." Dean shot a look at James. "... We will be ready for the match on Saturday. Can we have a word in private, now!" Once again, this was a demand, not a question, and Lily, Remus, James, and Sirius were all looking at Dean, glaring at him as he spoke down to River.

"I would rather stay here," she replied nervously.

"Our relationship is none of their business," he snapped, taking a step forward. Sirius and Remus go to their feet and turned to Dean, moving their hands to their trouser pockets, where River knew they kept their wands.

"Right... Fine..." she said, shaking her head at the boys and leading Dean to the corridor, asking the Fat Lady to keep the portrait open.

The Fat Lady looked between the pair of them and seemed to sense River was nervous and uneasy. She smiled and gave a cheery reply.

"When I ask you to talk to me in private, you do it! OK?" He snapped in a hushed tone.

She already felt intimidated by Dean's size alone, it did not help that the way he spoke to her made her feel afraid as well. But why the hell should she be afraid of him? After all, she has been through, why the hell was she scared of a little boy, who bullied girls he apparently 'liked'.

"No!" She snapped back. "I'm done, Dean. I'm not tolerating this, or you, anymore."

Dean scoffed and laughed, which infuriated River. He went for her wrist with his ham-like hand and she moved it away.

"You're not going anywhere!" he said, with a stony-faced expression. "Just be grateful I let you spend time with those pricks. I know what they think of me."

"And they're right to do so!" River retorted. She could feel her cheeks turning red and she clenched her jaw and fists whilst she glared at him.

"I'm not getting dumped by the slutty little bitch that spent her fifth year with any boy that would have her fat arse!"

"Piss off Dean!" she pushed past him and entered the common room hastily, looking distressed.

"I WON'T BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Dean stormed into the room after her and grabbed her arm tightly, digging his nails in harshly.

Sirius, James, Remus, and Lily had all gotten to their feet.

"Get the fuck off of me Dean!" River snapped, trying to pull her arm away.

"Make me!"

In the blink of an eye, one of the boys, River did not know which one, had sent Dean flying backward, and partly out of the portrait hole. Before she had a chance to react, Sirius, James, and Remus had jumped in front of her, holding their wands at Dean, who was clambering to his feet, taking out his own wand and glaring at the lot of them, looking crazed.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE WOODS!" James shouted, moving in front of River a little more, shielding her from view.

"PISS OF POTTER!" he spat. "THIS HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!"

River could feel her heart beating so fast her chest was aching, Lily stood beside her and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder, glaring at Dean Woods as well.

Thankfully, the shouting had caused the Fat Lady to call out for any nearby teachers.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out as she emerged from the portrait hole, looking furiously between the lot of them.

Dean put his wand down, but the boys didn't move.

"Of course," said Professor McGonagall, sighing angrily at the three boys. "Why is it when something is going on, it's always you two?!" She looked between James and Sirius.

"Professor," River spoke up quietly.

The boys lowered their wands and moved aside a little.

Professor McGonagall's face dropped a little, looking at River. River knew she must have looked pale and terrified.

"Miss Storme..." said McGonagall, lost for words. "And Miss Evans," she caught sight of Lily.

"The boys were trying to help me," River muttered, avoiding Dean's eye. "He was going to hurt me, or at least I thought he was."

"Bullsh..." Dean retorted but did not dare finished the word as McGonagall shot a look at him.

River pulled up her sleeve, revealing a deep red mark that was already starting to bruise.

"I can collaborate with Miss Storme's side of events!" The Fat Lady called out. "The boy was threatening her and called her a vile name!"

McGonagall looked from River's arm and back to Dean Woods, whose face had dropped.

"Headmasters office!" she snapped, pointing at the open portrait hole.

"But Professor..."

"NOW!"

"Don't say it," River sat down minutes later, watching the flames dance in the fireplace. Lily and Sirius were sat on either side. Lily holding her hand and Sirius stroking her back gently.

Remus and James were talking to the Fat Lady about what had happened and were waiting for McGonagall to return.

"We won't be saying anything," said Sirius. "We're just glad you're ok."

"Thanks to you guys," she added, taking a deep breath as what just happened started to hit her like a ton of bricks. "I should have listened to James. He kept telling me Dean was a right piece of work."

James and Remus returned, both smirking as they looked at River.

"The Fat Lady's friend Violet went up to Dumbledores office to see what was happening," Remus began.

"Said she'd never seen McGonagall look so mad," added James.

"What about the time we..." Sirius began.

"Worse," James cut in.

Sirius let out a low whistle.


	12. Mr James Potter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited: (22/11/2020)

River didn't expect the news of the previous night to stay quiet, but it must have been a new record with how fast it spread around the school. Dean Woods was now known as a horrible bullying git, who had managed to get himself dragged away to Dumbledore's office after trying to hurt River Storme.

The full story was only known by the people that were there, but it had been twisted into some heroic tale about James and Sirius taking on the much bigger Dean Woods to defend poor little orphan River Storme. This got James and Sirius even more attention than normal, not like they had lacked it previously.

Lily had told Beth the moment she returned from her date with Peter, and Beth was halfway through the common room, determined to take on Dean Woods herself before Lily dragged her back to their dorm, kicking and screaming.

"I assume you're pretty much put off dating for life now?" Lily asked her that Wednesday evening as they sat around the fireplace in the common room with Beth, the boys were nowhere to be found, which probably should have worried them a little.

"Hmm..." River replied, her mind wandering to Sirius Black and her stomach doing a flip again. "I just think you'll both be interviewing the next man to walk into my life."

Beth laughed. "You're not wrong."

"I think James and the boys will want to as well," Lily added.

They both turned to look at her and grinned deviously.

"James... and the boys... huh?" Beth repeated.

Lily turned pink and rolled her eyes, she tried to change the subject, but River and Beth were having none of it.

"Alright, alright!" Lily snapped, pink in the face and grinning. "I don't know, James just seems... well... A lot different this year. Like he has grown up a bit. It helps that he's stopped the constant flirting and actually acts like himself now. I couldn't say two words to him last year without him being a completely smug shithead."

"Language Miss Evans," River said, taken aback, but smiling none the less.

"I'm not saying I'm madly in love with the boy," she added quickly. "But if he were to ask me out for a coffee or something now. I wouldn't hex him. Well… I might a little.”

River and Beth looked impressed and Lily tried to shrug off the conversation.

"Baby steps I suppose," said River. "To be honest, the same can be said about the lot of them. They have changed a lot this year. I think Sirius and James have had, two detentions so far and they're not pulling pranks anywhere near as much as they were before."

"I guess they're growing up," Beth shrugged. "Peter wouldn't say two words to me when we start started our classes together because he was so overshadowed by James and Sirius when it came to girls. Now... Well... You know."

"Would you say he... Pettigrew on you..."

River's faced dropped as she looked at Lily, who realized almost immediately that what she said was completely atrocious.

"I'm so sorry..."

“I swear I’ll give you detention the next time,” Remus mumbled as they all made a sudden appearance in the common room, stumbling through the portrait hole. “If Filch finds out, just tell the teachers I had no idea.”

“What have they done now?” Lily called over, alerting the boys to their presence.

Peter joined Beth on the armchair. Remus was on the end of the sofa and James sat on the floor, leaning against Lily’s armchair. Sirius, did what Sirius did best and imposed on River’s personal space, picking up her legs on the sofa, sitting and then putting them down on his lap, resting his arms there and smiling at her.

She half debated punching her own stomach, now the butterflies were being worse than before.

“Well James and Sirius here,” said Remus. “Thought it’d be a great idea to… use a sticking charm on all of the toilet seats in the dungeons…”

“… Why…?” Lily asked, looking between them both.

“Thought it’d be a laugh…” James shrugged.

“It was quite funny to be fair,” Sirius added, fiddling with the folds in River’s jeans.

“As I said… I was never there,” Remus added.

***

When it finally got to Friday afternoon, the lot of them breathed a sigh of relief. River, Sirius, Remus, James, Bellatrix, Dolohov, Lily, and Severus had all won and been invited to Slughorn's Christmas Party in the middle of December, and River was happy that it was almost Halloween and time for the big feast in the Great Hall.

At the end of their Transfiguration lesson, Professor McGonagall asked River and James to stay behind after the lesson, giving her usual McGonagall look which could either mean they were in trouble or maybe she just wanted to talk.

Lily, Sirius, and Remus said they meet them in the Great Hall as James and River stood in front of Professor McGonagall's desk, both looking a little guilty. But she looked up at the pair of them and smiled.

"You don't always have to look so grave Mr. Potter," she said, almost laughing. "For once, you're not here to be told off."

James breathed a sigh of relief and smirked, looking happy with himself. River on the other hand still felt awkward, she wasn't used to being pulled aside by teachers, as they had mostly left her alone.

"I wanted to speak to you both regarding the incident surrounding Dean Woods and yourselves," she began, looking from River to James. "I think you'll both be relieved to know Dean Woods has been permanently expelled from Hogwarts and his titles of Head Boy and Quidditch Captain will be given to people more... fitting."

River's chest suddenly felt tight. She didn't think this would result in him being removed from the school and she definitely didn't want to be blamed over something like this.

Before she had a chance to speak, Professor McGonagall continued.

"It has been brought to my attention by Hanna Zabini, that this isn't the first time this has occurred, and Dean had bullied students, mainly girls over the past couple of years. Hanna admitted, she was afraid to say anything at the time, because she was afraid of him. I WILL NOT have students afraid of being in this school and I will not have someone I thought I could trust, abuse his power in any way."

River breathed a sigh of relief and had a surge of gratitude for Hanna, knowing how scared of him she must have been.

"So..." said Professor McGonagall. "That brings me to the next matter. Both I and Professor Dumbledore agree that it should be you, Mr. Potter that takes Mr. Woods place as Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team."

James' face lit up. "Really!?" He exclaimed, looking as shocked as River.

"Really," said McGonagall smiling proudly at James. "You can also thank Miss Evans for recommending you."

James' cheeks flushed, but he couldn't have been happier with the news.

After McGonagall asked River how she was doing and they thanked their Professor more than enough times, James practically ran back to the common room and burst through the portrait hole.

River arrived just in time to see James hugging Lily around the waist and practically carrying her around the room as he jumped for joy.


	13. Breaking a Few Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is pink, frilly, and covered in bows...? Not Madam Puddifoot's this time.

It had been a fair few weeks since all the drama surrounding Dean Woods, and everything had started to settle again. The only difference was another increase of Auror’s in Hogwarts, by request of the parents who were still worried about their children.

River now wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Blott every couple of days just to let them know she was ok, and just so she could make sure they were ok. River had also bumped into Hanna Zabini in the halls and took her aside to talk.

Hanna wasn’t as horrible as she thought. In fact, both River and Hanna were now on speaking terms and she would even sit with River in the Great Hall now and again to talk.

It turned out Hanna’s father had been an Auror and he’d died a few years back, Hanna explained that although she could never undo what she had said to River for the past five years, she could at least try and help her out a little, knowing that she was lucky to still have her mum around at least.

Hanna also told her about her time with Dean and how nasty he was to her. He had made her into a jealous, anxious, nervous wreck and the only way she got through it all was speaking to her cousin in Hufflepuff and starting to spend time with them instead. Realizing how negative the people were in her own house.

As it entered December and the snow started to fall around the castle, they all started to spend more time in the Common Room and James had canceled Quidditch until the new year.

River was sat beside Sirius with her feet resting on his legs and her back resting against Lily. Remus and Peter were playing chess on the coffee table and Beth was sat talking to James about their parents, who knew one another quite well.

They were all happy relaxing before Dean's friend Cole walked over to Lily and stood there awkwardly.

“Hey, Evans, I was wondering if you’d want to go to Slughorn’s Christmas Party with me?” he asked, looking at the group of them, who had all fallen silent to stare.

Clearly, Cole was one of the seventh-year students who had been invited.

Lily tried to give him a polite smile, but she had heard a lot about Cole, a lot she would rather not find herself on the end of.

“Sorry,” she replied. “I’ve already gotten a date.”

Cole muttered something, looked downtrodden, and slouched away. They all continued with what they were doing, except James who was looking at Lily, seeming a bit annoyed.

“Who are you going with Evans?” he asked.

River caught Sirius’ eye and they both grinned.

“None of your business,” Lily replied.

“That reminds me,” River began, looking at Remus. “Remus, you wouldn’t mind keeping me company at Slughorn’s Party, would you?”

“Erm…” Remus’ face dropped, and he looked from River to Lily and back.

River blushed, but Remus panicked and blurted out:

“Lily already asked me to go with her!”

They all looked at Lily. River raised her brow and smirked, leaving Lily to elbow her in the back.

“I asked Remus to get a load of annoying boys off of my back,” she said, sounding annoyed. “I’d rather go with a friend, than with someone who’d spend their evening trying seduce their way into my knickers.”

Beth spat out her drink, and River snorted. “Alright Lil,” said River. “I think we can understand that.”

James looked slightly hurt about Lily’s comment, but she didn’t seem to have realized as she started to speak to Beth about what she planned on wearing to the party.

“What about me?” Sirius muttered to River.

River eyed him suspiciously.

“What about you…?” she asked.

“What about going with me to Slughorn’s Christmas Party?”

“Are you asking?” she replied, her stomach doing a flip. It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about going with Sirius, she just didn’t want the rest of the group to get the wrong idea. She didn’t really want him to think she liked him either, which she still wasn’t completely sure she did.

“Well if you want to go with a friend…” he replied awkwardly.

A friend, of course. She felt that same twinge again, but this time she felt a little upset. Being friends with Sirius made her happy, spending time with him made her happy, they were friends, and she knew she shouldn’t feel upset in any way.

“I guess it’d be a good idea,” she smiled. “Otherwise you’ll be taking James.”

“I’ll have you know I look amazing in a dress!” James snapped, giving a sensual twirl and pretending to curtsey with an invisible dress.

“Should I ask how you know?” Lily replied.

“NO!” Remus, Peter, and Sirius replied.

***

December dragged on and the snow got thicker and thicker. River received a letter on the thirteen from Mr. and Mrs. Blott just as she was opening a package from the dress shop in Diagon Alley. The owl was half frozen to death and spent a few hours in their room by the fire.

“Any news?” Lily asked as she returned from the library with Beth.

River’s heart sank a little as she read the letter and it suddenly dawned on her, how much she had missed William and Martha over the past few months.

“I’m going to have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. Martha has to go and see her sister who’s taken ill with Dragonpox and they don’t want me to catch it,” she sighed, putting the letter on her bedside table, not sure how to react.

“You could come with me,” said Lily. “I’m sure Mum and Dad won’t mind.”

“It’s your sister’s wedding Lil,” said River. “Let’s not ruin her big day with our… abnormalities.”

“What about a trip to Finland with me and Mum?” suggested Beth. “Her and Dad always look forward to seeing you.”

She walked over to her friends and hugged them. “I’ll be fine at Hogwarts, enjoy your Christmas’s with your families, I’ll figure something out. Everyone says Christmas at Hogwarts is one hell of a feast.”

She stepped back from the girls and walked over to the package on her bed.

“But on a lighter note,” she continued. “My dress for the parties arrived.”

She untied the bow and opened the box as she and the girls stood over it. All their faces dropped, before Lily and Beth burst out laughing. It was the pinkest, frilliest thing River had ever seen, with bows and sequins of every part of the skirt.

River held it up and against herself as she looked in the mirror. Beth was on her bed dying with laughter and Lily was also choking. The giant bow on the back of it also did not exactly help.

“Merlin’s Beard…” River muttered. “I can’t wear this… People will think I’ve gone mad.”

“Is this… What you… asked for…?” Beth tried to speak as she laughed.

“I requested a dark red, long-sleeved dress,” she replied, looking at the tag attached which read: ‘Bright pink with Bows – River Storme.’ “What on earth… The party is tomorrow…”

River threw the dress back into the box and sighed. Beth and Lily stopped laughing and stood at either side of her.

“You know… I think I might have an idea…” said Beth. “… But I probably shouldn’t say… but it is an emergency… I… come on we’ll find the boys.”

“Absolutely not!” James snapped, looking at the three of them. “I’m not helping you sneak to Hogsmeade to get a bloody dress.”

“James if you saw the other dress, you’d understand,” said Beth. “It’s a disaster.”

“A monstrosity,” added Lily.

“Honestly, I think it might be plotting my death,” River finished.

James rolled his eyes. Determined not to give in, he stood with his arms crossed, looking down at them. It wasn’t River or Beth that spoke next, Lily stepped forward and tried to give him the kindest smile she could, but when he sighed and didn’t fall for it, she dropped the charade and crossed her arms, stood up straight, and gave him a sly look.

“Right Potter,” she said. “I’ll make a deal with you.”

James raised his brow. “I’m listening Evans,” he replied smugly.

“I’ll agree to one date,” she said. “Next Hogsmeade trip, no hand-holding, no kissing, and no flirting.”

“Not really much of a date then,” he replied, smirking.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. “You can shake my hand and flirt a little, take it, or leave it.”

“You’d agree to a date, for a dress,” said James, looking quite pleased. “It must be really bad.”

“Accio!” Beth pointed her wand at the girl's dormitory and the dress flew down and into her hands, holding it up for James to see.

He looked taken aback. “Merlin… You weren’t kidding… Burn that whilst we’re gone will you.”

River perked up. “So, you’ll take me?”

“Meet me outside the Portrait Hole in five minutes. I have to get a couple of things,” said James, before turning to Lily and grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll see you on our date.”

“What have I done…?” Lily muttered, wide-eyed.

“Been a really great friend,” said River, hugging a traumatized looking Lily.

“You never saw this,” James said to River minutes later as they stood in front of a Witch statue, River had passed plenty of times before. James took out his wand and tapped the statue, saying the word: “Dissendium!”

At once, the statues hump opened wide enough to admit a fairly thin person. James glanced up and down the corridor, then hoisted River up and telling her to hurry as she pushed herself forward through the narrow hole.

She slid a considerable wat down what felt like a stone slide, then landed on the cold damp earth. She stood up, looking around. It was pitch back. She took out her wand and held it up. “Lumos!” she muttered and saw it was a very narrow, low, earthy passageway.

“Watch out!” James called, as he slid down and joined her.

River jumped out of the way just in time for James to collide with the earth, somewhat more gracefully than she did.

James dusted himself off and lit the tip of his own wand. He squeezed by River keeping his head low whilst he set off down the passageway.

River was just behind him, both of them joking about what Lily would probably end up doing to him on their date.

The passage twisted and turned. They hurried along it, River stumbling now and then on the uneven floor.

It took ages, but River kept thinking back to that horrible dress and she pressed on. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise. James sped up and River struggled to keep up.

Ten minutes later, they came to the foot on some worn steps, which rose out of sight above them. Carefully they began to climb. River losing count after the two hundredth step. James stopped her and she looked up at what appeared to be a trapdoor.

James was listening for sounds above, but nothing came. He very slowly pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge.

When the coast was clear they climbed out and helped River into the cellar full of wooden crates and boxes. James closed the door, which River noticed blended so perfectly with the dusty floor that it was impossible to tell it was there.

“Now,” James whispered, taking something out of his pocket, which to River looked like a thin and shiny cloak. “You don’t mention this to Sirius, Remus or Peter. I’ll never hear the end of it otherwise.”

He threw it around his shoulders and River looked down, seeing that James’ body had completely disappeared.

“An invisibility cloak?” she said a little loud than she intended.

“Now isn’t really the time,” she replied. “Get under it, so we can get this bloody dress.”

River got under the cloak and James covered their faces and told her to put out her wand. It sounded busy upstairs, but it was a Saturday in Hogsmeade, so she wasn’t surprised.

They crept slowly toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs. Quickly and silently, they climbed up the stairs. James reached the door at the top of the stairs and slipped through it. River found they were behind the counter at Honeydukes. They crept sideways and around the crowd of Witches and Wizards. They snuck through the front door and into the street, which had fortunately been cleared of some of the snow.

Hogsmeade looked lovely in the winter, River thought to herself as she continued to follow James through the Highstreet. The little thatch cottages and shops were all covered in snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and an assortment of lights and decorations hanging in the trees.

“Come on,” said James, removing the cloak as they stood outside of the dressmakers, which had four Christmassy dresses in the window on mannequins. “No one’s inside, best to be quick though.”

James followed her through the door, and they entered a small shop with a few racks containing different colored dresses and gowns.

“Hello dears,” said the lady behind the counter waved from behind her newspaper. “Let me know if I can help.”

James felt very out of place here and he followed River around like a lost puppy. River was grateful to have him there though as he pulled faces at every dress he disliked and shrugged if he didn’t mind them.

After fifteen minutes of browsing, she heard the sound of two Ministry workers talking the in street, just outside of the shop. James ducked down behind the yellow dresses and River just sighed, picking up the velvet, long-sleeved, dark red dress that looked somewhat like the one she had in mind.

She went over to the counter and placed it in front of the women. She lowered her newspaper and flicked her wand at the tape measure which sprung to life and started measuring all the different parts of River’s body before curling up on the counter again and snoring.

The Witch flicked her wand again and the dress resized itself to River’s measurements, before packing itself away in a box.

River handed over the money and took the box, going over to James who was stood by the door, keeping an eye out.

“They’ve gone,” he said. “Got the dress?”

“Close enough,” she replied, somewhat unsure what it would end up looking like on her tomorrow night.

“Come on then.”

They hurried from the shop, vanishing under the cloak and making their way back to Hogwarts.


	14. The Slug Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River finds herself alone with Sirius, and her feelings might get the better of her.

River woke that Sunday morning, feeling a sudden sense of dread, realising today was the day she would have to dress up and make small talk with a load of Ministry officials. She was even more worried at the fact she was going to be going with Sirius. She really wished she had asked Remus before Lily because at least then she would spend the evening relaxed and acting like herself. With Sirius, she knew she was going to be dealing with that annoying twinge in her Stomach and that never-ending debate with herself around if she did or did not fancy him.

It could be worse. She could still be with Dean and she could be wearing the worlds most disgusting dress. But at least the dress would make for a decent conversation subject.

River had never dressed up for anything like this before. She had previously been invited to Slughorn’s Christmas Parties but feared dealing with the Slytherins so much, she faked an illness every year. Now she had Lily, Sirius and Remus who would at least keep her company and the other Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws that were now very friendly with her.

The boys spent their afternoon outside playing in the snow, magically pelting snowballs at their dorm window, until Lily poked her head out and tried to hex them.

“I’ve going to murder one of them later,” she said, closing the window and sitting next to River to finish painting her nails.

River knew she could have done this through magic, but Lily adored doing simple Muggle things sometimes and it did make the day drag out, making it seems as though the Christmas party was further away than it actually was. Beth was sat on her own bed painting her toes, which had resulted in a large amount of nail polish covering her covers. She had her own plans with Peter than night apparently, but she wouldn’t say what.

“Are you alright Riv?” Lily asked.

River was staring out into space, thinking about every possible thing that could go wrong that evening. She should know by now, nothing would go wrong, a lot of things had changed, but in the back of her mind, she always felt like it could easily revert to how it was. Not to mention to Sirius thing, making her stomach twinge every few minutes.

“Hmm…” she replied. “Just thinking about tonight.”

“About Sirius dressed all smart?” Beth winked.

“I just hope he behaves himself,” said Lily. “Severus is going, and I know them two despise one another.”

“I meant to ask,” River began. “Why didn’t Severus ask you to go with him?”

Lily blushed and looked awkward. “He did…” she said looking guilty. “But I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. After he told me he fancied me last year I’ve just been making sure he doesn’t think that I want something more. I just said I had a date already, he looked upset and then asked Bellatrix to go with him.”

“That’ll end well,” muttered Beth. “Bellatrix big mouth, Severus Snape and Sirius Black in the same room. Better keep him on a short leash Riv.”

River snorted. “Honestly, he’d probably like that.”

Lily raised her brow and smirked. “Oh, really Miss Storme.”

“Don’t be getting idea’s Miss Evans,” she replied, smirking.

Another snowball hit the window, scaring Lily enough to knock the pot of nail polish over.

***

River and Lily had spent a good part of Sunday afternoon getting ready. It wasn’t like River got any say in it as both Lily and Beth were ecstatic. By Five O’clock, Lily looked Perfect as always. Her hair styled in elegant curls and her eye makeup blue to match her sequined gown. Beth was curling River’s hair with her wand and gripping it into a loose bun, adding in a few red flowers and a permanent sticking charm to make sure it all stayed in place. River had already done her silver and black eye makeup and finished it off with dark red lipstick.

“I still don’t know about this,” she muttered, holding up the long red dress, feeling like this Party was a lot more hassle than it was worth. “Remind me again why I’m not allowed to back out?” She looked between Lily and Beth.

They glanced at one another, then back at River.

“Because you’ll keep putting things off and you’ll never become more confident,” said Beth. “You don’t deserve to spend your time hiding away whilst the Slytherins and all the other bullies get to enjoy themselves.”

“Put your middle finger up to them and walk into that party like you don’t care what they think,” Lily added. “It’s the best medicine. Showing them that they haven’t broken you.”

“Also… Sirius dressed up…” Beth looking dreamily up to the ceiling and grinned.

“Priorities Beth,” River mumbled, smiling at her two best friends. They were right, she needed to stop hiding away and feeling sorry for herself. She’d managed to get through the past few months, now she was going to get through a stupid little party with a bunch of Ministry Officials and snobby Slytherins.

She nodded and went to the bathroom, removing her robe and pulling the dress up. Fastening the back of it with her wand. River looked at herself in the mirror. She could only make out the top half of her body. The long-sleeved dress hung off her shoulders. It went a little lower than she would have liked, but it was a nice change. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was not this awkward little girl who only dressed in baggy clothes. She felt like she was grown up, not like she would spend this much effort every day, she thought to herself. Four hours of getting ready was not worth it.

“Are you ready?” Lily asked, knocking on the door.

“Kind of,” she replied.

She took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door. Lily and Beth looked around, their mouths dropping and their eyes wide.

“Please don’t,” River said awkwardly, feeling her cheeks turn red.

“Riv,” Beth began. “You look…”

“Amazing!”

River smiled at the pair of them, both were clearly trying to figure out if she was the same person. She went over to her bed and put on the Necklace from Remus and collected her purse, which, thanks to a charm, now matched the dress. She slipped her converse on and hid them under the dress. Lily had told her to wear something she found comfortable, as the chances were, they would be standing and talking for a while.

Lily collected hers and River’s cloaks from the door hooks and they both wrapped it around their shoulders and dresses, trying to cover them up as much as they could. A lot of students would be going down to the hall of dinner and they would very much stand out like a sore thumb. They also did not fancy freezing to death in the corridors before they arrived.

Beth escorted them down to the entrance hall, talking about her plans with Peter for the night and wondering the same thing as River and Lily. Just who would James be bringing to the party? That is if he was going at all.

When they arrived at the entrance hall at Five Thirty, they found an unusually large number of students waiting there, all who seemed to be waiting for their dates from other houses. Beth wished them both luck and entered the Great Hall in search of Peter.

Sirius and Remus had not arrived yet, but neither Lily nor River expected them to be on time, as chances were Sirius was doing his hair and Remus was probably telling him to hurry up.

After ten minutes the entrance hall had cleared a little and Sirius, Remus and James finally arrived. But James was not alone. He was arm in arm with one of his little fan club members from Ravenclaw and the look on Lily’s face said exactly what River thought of the idea. She was dressed in a long green dress, if it could be called a dress as bits of fabric had been cut away here and there. It looked more like a patchwork quilt with a few patches still missing.

James and the girl smiled at them as they passed back and went straight to the Dungeons.

“Don’t ask,” said Remus, shaking his head as she approached the girls. “James asked us to wait for him and… You know I still don’t know her name.”

Sirius shrugged in reply. He and Remus were dressed in their black dress robes and looked very smart. Sirius had even tidied his hair up a little, which was a very big thing for him.

He met River’s eye and they both smiled at one another. That same twinge was in her stomach but eased a little as she saw Sirius Black blush. That was a first, River thought to herself, but chances were his tie was too tight and cutting off his airway. She hoped anyway, as Sirius Black never blushed.

“You girls looking amazing by the way,” said Remus, as no one spoke. He offered his arm out to Lily and she took it, heading down towards the Dungeons.

Sirius did the same, pulling a snobby face and grinning.

“May I accompany the lady to the dance?” he said, sounding like a mix of Dumbledore and Ollivander.

River rolled her eyes, relief washed over her as he resumed being his stupid and usual self. She took hold of his arm and nudge him with her elbow, grinning up at him.

The deeper they went into the dungeons the more they heard the sounds of laughter, music and loud conversation. When they reached the usual entrance to the potion’s classroom, they found Flitch checking off names one by one. When they finally made it inside River and Lily handed their cloaks to a House-Elf and look around the unfamiliar room.

Their classroom was much larger than usual. The ceiling and walls had been draped with emerald, crimson and gold hangings so that it looked like they were all inside of a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy and bathed in the red light cast by an ornate golden lamp dangling from the centre of the ceiling in which real fairies were fluttering, each a bright speak of light. Quiet music from violins issued from a distant corner’ a haze of pipe smoke hung over several elderly warlocks deep in conversation, and a few students (Who had not been invited) were dressed in a green uniform making their way through the crowd, carrying silver platters of food and drink.

“Miss Evans!” boomed Slughorn, almost as soon as he caught sight of her. “Come over here, there’s a man I’d love for you to meet!”

Slughorn was wearing a green pointed wizard’s hat, to match his robes. He waved Lily over and River knew Lily adored Professor Slughorn so would not ignore his request. She took Remus with her, leaving River and Sirius stood awkwardly at the side of the crowd, her arm with linked with his.

“Drink?” he asked, his eyes following a Ravenclaw student who was carrying a tray of champagne and wine.

“Yes!” River replied.

He escorted her through the crowd, carefully taking two champagne flutes, handing one to River and moving his hand around her waist. Those annoying butterflies were back and wouldn’t go away. She sipped on the champagne, Sirius looking at her and smiling every few seconds and they looked at the sea of unknown faces.

“I’m starting to know how you felt at the common room parties,” he said, moving close to her ears. “Out of place.”

“And you think I’m doing any better,” she replied, grinning.

“You certainly look the part at least,” he said, squeezing her waist a little with his hand and drinking more of his champagne.

“Meaning?” she asked, raising her brow.

Sirius looked extremely awkward. He opened and closed his mouth trying to find the words but seemed to be losing a battle with his own mind.

“You look beautiful River!” he blurted out, loud enough for a few party guests to hear. They muttered something to one another and chuckled before ignoring them again.

River’s cheeks turned red and she looked a little lost of words. The words she managed to say was a mix of ‘Thank you’ and ‘Cheers’.

“Chank ears?” Sirius repeated, laughing.

“Oh, piss off,” she replied, smirking. “I’m not one for taking compliments.”

Sirius squeezed her waist again and moved a little closer to her. Those butterflies were practically trying to jump out of River’s stomach as she took another sip of champagne before she had a chance to make up some more words.

“Thank goodness that’s over with,” said Remus, appearing with Lily by his side, the pair of them looked as though they had just spent some time around a particularly foul-smelling potion.

“He introduced us to Abraxas Malfoy,” said Lily, looking repulsed. She nodded at the handsome, white-blonde haired man that was dressed in silver and green robes. He was the spitting image of Lucius Malfoy if Lucius was twenty years older.

“He was polite enough until Slughorn mentioned Lily was a Muggle-born,” said Remus. “The moment Slughorn wandered off, Malfoy looked disgusted and walked away, mumbling something about dirty blood.”

River had half a mind to go over there herself and say something but making a scene in a room full of ministry officials was not the way to impress anyone.

“I suppose we could always pay a visit to Malfoy Manor in a summer,” said Sirius, winking at Remus.

“I’ll be leaving that to you and James, Padfoot,” said Remus, shaking his head. “I’m not getting involved with any more of your hair-brained, summer holiday shenanigans.”

As it started to get a little livelier, the four of them made their way to the other side of the room, scooping up more flutes of champagne on the way. River was getting a few looks from Ministry members, but they had a chosen to give her a wide berth, clearly assuming it was unwise to talk to her about her parent’s achievements. The moment Slughorn had found Lily again she has whisked away, Lupin following along, trying to keep up as Slughorn introduced Lily to every Ministry member in the room.

River and Sirius were already on their fifth glass of Champagne and stood cosily in the corner talking about the odd assortment of people in the room the moment James made his way over, his date nowhere to be seen.

“Merlin’s beard…” James sighed.

“Where have you been?” Sirius asked.

They both smirked at the dark red lipstick on James’ mouth and cheeks.

“I’ve been trying to get away from her for the past hour,” said James, making his way over, wiping his mouth and cheeks with his sleeve and frowning. “Bloody mental that one.”

“Serves you right for coming with her,” said Sirius, grinning as James stood beside them, taking a champagne flute and drinking the entire thing.

“Well the dating pool was shallow after you took Riv and Remus had Evans,” he mumbled, frowning at the pair of them.

“Probably should have asked Lily before she asked Remus then,” said River, glancing at the crowd to see the Ravenclaw girl pushing her way through in search of James.

She laid her eyes on him and hurried over smiling, sitting on his lap and throwing her arms around his neck. She pressed her lips to his and James, eyes wide open looked at River and Sirius for help, but they just tried to hold back laughter.

The moment Remus and Lily finally made their way back over, the tapping of a champagne glass rang out and the room fell into silence. All eyes went to Slughorn, who was stood on a chair, looking very unstable on his feet, but looked very cheerful, nonetheless.

“MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!” He shouted, taking another swig of ale from his goblet. “I HAVE A VERY SPECIAL GUEST HERE THIS EVENING. A GUEST WHO IS KNOWN TO MANY OF US AS A KEY PART OF THE MINISTRY. MAY I INTRODUCE MINISTER FOR MAGIC MILLICENT BAGNOLD… S RIGHT-HAND MAN HARVEY ELKS!”

The dungeon door opened, and a tall, pale figure appeared dressed in black. There was polite applause from the room as Harvey Elks entered the room. Slughorn hurried over to his special guest and shook his hand enthusiastically and offering him a goblet of ale.

“Special guest huh…” Sirius muttered in River’s ear.

She giggled, feeling the butterflies again as his fingers brushed against hers. More than anything, right now, River wanted to kiss Sirius Black and never stop. She wanted him to pin her against the wall and do whatever he pleased and the thought of it made her…

“Riv,” Lily said. “Me and Remus are going to head back to the common room. Are you both coming?”

River looked at Sirius and he, like her, was trying to think of an excuse.

“Haven’t had a chance to speak to anyone yet,” said Sirius. “There’s a few Auror’s I want to get to know before I go to bed.”

He looked at River and she nodded in agreement. “Might as well speak to a few people before we go. Otherwise, it feels like a bit of a waste.”

Lily and Remus pulled a face at one another and bid them goodnight. They disappeared through the crowd, just as James’ date dragged him off to a quieter location.

“Should we help him?” River asked, looking and James’ pleading expression.

“He’s a big boy,” Sirius replied. “I warned him enough times, but… well… his goal was to make Lily jealous. Clearly, it’s working well…”

River snorted. “So, these Auror’s you want to speak to?” she changed the subject to less pressing matters.

“Well…” Sirius mumbled. “Honestly, I just wanted to get out of here, but didn’t fancy the common room just yet.”

River’s stomach did a flip, and she took a deep breath trying to steady her heart rate.

“What do you say?”

River looked at her watch. “It’s Seven O’clock and I’m dressed up, I might as well make the most of it.”

Sirius smiled, putting his arm out for her to take. She collected her cloak on the way out and they turned right instead of left, leading deeper into the dungeons.

The moment Sirius got a chance to, he removed his tie, unfasted the top of his shirt and messed up his hair.

“That’s better,” he muttered, turning right again and along a long narrow corridor with green torches.

At this point, River just wanted the butterflies in her stomach to leave her be, but she was arm in arm with Sirius Black, wandering around the school, alone. He led her through little side routes that clearly very few knew about, some hidden behind paintings and others behind suits of armour. Clearly, he and James had spent a large amount of their time finding escape routes from Flitch and other teachers, she thought.

“So,” Sirius began. “Meet anyone interesting tonight?”

River smirked. “Only Minister Bagnold… S, right-hand man. I’ve been a big fan for years.”

“Ah yes, Master Elks,” he said, laughing. “A man of much… renown? Although, I’m not going to lie. I have no idea who on earth he is…”

“I saw him once during the summer when I had to collect the medals for my parents,” she replied. “He didn’t have much to say, in fact, he probably spent the majority of the ceremony glaring at the ground.”

Sirius took a final turn down a corridor that was hidden behind a tapestry. The corridor came out to a circular room with windows on all sides. The moonlight was their only source of light, casting shadows of the falling snow on the stone floor. River let go of Sirius and approached the window, looking out over the snowy grounds and smiling. Even the forbidden forest, which River normally found frightening, looked beautiful in the snow.

“Should I ask how you found this place?” said River, grinning. She glanced back at Sirius, who was looking at her with an expression she had not seen before.

“Let’s just say it had something to do with Flitch and some fireworks,” he replied, approaching her. “But I’m assuming that wasn’t the answer you expected?”

River laughed quietly and he moved his hand onto her waist again, pulling her close. She looked up at him, looking into his grey eyes, she knew what she wanted to do at this exact moment and never in her life had she wanted anything so desperately.

“What did you think I was expecting?” she muttered, glancing from his eyes to his lips and back.

“Something to do with my apparent womanising habits?” he bit the corner of his lip, smirking as he moved slightly closer. The air in the room felt thick and it felt as though time had stood still.

She could feel her heart pounding hard against her ribs as she tried to catch her breath, still wondering if this was a smart idea. The consequences going through her mind, but at that moment she did not care. Sirius moved his free hand to her neck, and she felt a tingle down her spine. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering wildly and she knew they would not stop until she kissed him.

“Sirius…” she whispered but was cut off by his lips. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself up against him and kissing him back, relief washing over her and her stomach easing as the kiss got deeper.

She almost stumbled as he moved her against the wall, pressing his body against hers, kissing, rough, hard and gripping her tightly, determined that this moment would not stop. 

“Fuck…” he muttered as he moved his lips to her neck, River running her hands through his hair, feeling a rush of pleasure, desperate for him to do more, but refraining herself from begging. It could have been an hour or even thirty seconds before he stopped, out of breath, forcing himself to behave. River glanced downwards and smirked, Sirius's cheeks flushed pink.

“Don’t…” he muttered. “… I have self-control, but… I can’t control that…” He pressed his lips against hers again for a few seconds, before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

This felt right to River. There was something here that was not there when she was with Dean, be it lust or something else. She felt safe and happy with Sirius and wanted more than anything to rip his clothes off… but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind as the butterflies started to return.


	15. The Ministers' Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harvey Elks makes another appearance in Hogwarts.

It felt very surreal the next day. She and Sirius had spent hours hidden away in that corner of the castle. Neither of them returned to the common room until around One O’clock in the morning, and the moment River got into her dorm room she found Lily and Beth sat on her bed with their arms crossed, looking like parents who had just caught their teenager sneaking in.

She didn’t tell them exactly what had happened. In fact, she left out the fact she kissed him and explained that they spent the evening talking about their plans after school and over Christmas. Lily and Beth did not believe her, and she knew it, but she didn’t want to say anything before she knew what Sirius was going to say if he’d even say anything at all.

That night her dreams were filled with images of what had happened, and every inch of her being wanted to sneak out and see him again.

By the time, their third lesson of the day came around, River and Lily met the boys in their Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. James looking particularly frazzled. Lupin starting to look as though he was coming down with something and Sirius smiling the moment, he caught her eye. She smiled back shyly and took her seat on the table beside the boys.

“Good night then James?” Lily asked him, frowning at the purple marks all over his neck. “Or did she try and eat you alive?”

“Ugh…” James lowered his head onto his arms, his ears turning red. “I’m done with women!” He muttered.

“Well in that case,” said Lily. “We best cancel the date I owe you…”

This perked him up, he sat back up in his chair and smiled at Lily, who seemed to think he had been through enough trauma and seemed to feel bad for him.

“I’ve learnt my lesson though,” he added. “No dating that lot. They are barking mad. She started crying like a madwoman when I told her at the end of the night it wasn’t going to work, and she hexed me!” He pointed at his neck and pulled his collar down a little to reveal more bruising. “Saying something about me using her. She was the one glued to my face.”

“You did ask her out,” said River.

“Even though me and Sirius told you not too,” Remus mumbled.

“You both took River and Evans,” said James, frowning. “And I couldn’t damn well ask Beth, now that she and Peter are a little chummy.”

“You had at least a month to ask me or Lily,” River stated.

“You were getting over Dean and Evans would have said no,” James replied, looking between the pair of them.

“I wouldn’t have said no.”

Everyone looked at Lily. River smirking and James a little gobsmacked.

“Can you please stop making it out like I hate you, Potter,” she said bluntly. “You’re just a pratt, a bit less of a pratt than before. So, I’d have said yes if you’d asked me.”

“N-no you wouldn’t have,” he muttered, seeming to be having an internal debate with himself.

Lily shrugged and turned to the front of the class, just as Professor Prodd emerged from his office, shaking and stumbling over to his table. He was his usual shade of grey, with that same wide-eyed, nervous expression. He started the lesson by talking about different types of curses and the counter curses that would help prevent injury or damage to them if used correctly.

What the Professor had not expected was a knock at the door, which force his knees to buckle as he collapsed and crawled under his desk.

“C-come in!” he called out quietly.

River looked around. It was Professor McGonagall.

“Professor?” said McGonagall, looking around for a sign of him.

Professor Prodd popped his head up from behind his desk and smiled weakly at McGonagall. “Y-yes…?”

Professor McGonagall shook her head and decided it best not to react or say anything. “Could I borrow Miss Storme please?”

River felt like her heart had dropped in her chest, and a sense of dread took over her. She was hoping, beyond anything that she was just being called out of the lesson for something simple and school-related.

“Yes, take her, take her,” said Professor Prodd, shooing River out of the classroom from the safety of his desk.

She got to her feet and left the class, all eyes on her once again, everyone was clearly thinking the exact same thing she was. What had happened and who had it happened too?

She thought about Mr and Mrs Blott and her heart sank again, panic took over as she entered the Hallway and she had to stop Professor McGonagall in her tracks before they went any further, just so she could catch her breath.

“It’s nothing to worry about Miss Storme,” said the Professor, she placed her hand on River’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “There are just some questions the Ministry wish to ask you, regarding your parents.” Professor McGonagall looked angry at the prospect the Ministry were in the school asking River questions. But River knew, if McGonagall had any say in it, she would have stopped it altogether.

She followed Professor McGonagall through the corridors and toward a plain stone wall with a gargoyle sat just in front of it. It sprang to life the moment it saw them and eyed them suspiciously.

“Liquorice Twists,” said Professor McGonagall.

The stature nodded and hoped aside, the wall started to move. Sliding aside, revealing a twisted stone staircase.

“Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you,” Professor McGonagall gestured to the stairway and smiled weakly. “Just remember, you don’t have to answer anything you don’t feel comfortable answering.”

River nodded and stepped onto the stairs, walking slowly, delaying the meeting as much as she could. When she reached the top, she stepped off the stone staircase and rapped on the door. It opened silently and she entered.

Dumbledores office was a large beautiful circular room, full of different noises. A number of instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered in portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were muttering to one another in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, the shabby, tattered, sorting hat.

She never looked around the office the last few times she had been here. She was grief-stricken and could hardly look up as Dumbledore spoke to her. This room was completely new to her in one sense. She stood there awkwardly as no one was in the office, looking around at the portraits, some of them waving at her and she waved back.

The office door opened. Dumbledore and a familiar face entered the room. Both looking very sombre.

“Ah, Miss Storme,” said Dumbledore, smiling as he met her eye.

“Professor,” she replied, but her attention turned to that of the man she had seen the previous night. Harvey Elks, the pale figure dressed in black looked at her, his eyes piercing hers. She felt uncomfortable, but she also felt the same when she saw him enter the party. He did not look as friendly as the Minister for Magic, but that may have been why he was her right-hand man.

“This is Mr Elks,” Dumbledore gestured to a seat in front of his desk.

She sat down and watched as Dumbledore went around the other side and took his place behind it, still beaming at her. Mr Elks on the other hand stood by the fireplace, crossing his arms and staring at River, making her feel uncomfortable.

“Liquorice Twist?” Professor Dumbledore nodded at the glass bowl on his desk with some red sweets resting there.

“No thank you, Sir,” she replied, crossing her legs and arms, her eyes darting to Mr Elks with every little move he made.

“Albus…” Mr Elks mumbled, sounding rather irritated. “… I have work to do.”

Dumbledore’s expression was quite blank when he turned to Mr Elks. “This is my school, and Miss Storme is in my care. You will be patient.”

River tried not to smirk, disguising it as a cough so she could cover her mouth and relax her face.

“Now, Miss Storme,” Dumbledore’s face lit up again as he turned to River. “The Ministry has wanted to ask you questions for months, but myself and the Minister for Magic agreed that you would need time before any such questioning was to take place in regards to your parents. I will ask you this now, are you comfortable answering some questions today?”

She caught Mr Elks in the corner of her eye, looking extremely displeased as though this was a waste of his precious time. Something about him made her angry, as though her parent's death and this current situation was almost pointless to him.

River sighed and nodded at Dumbledore, feeling her heart rate suddenly quicken.

“Good!” Mr Elk practically spat but tried to relax his face, as to seem less annoyed.

“Now, Harvey,” Dumbledore nodded at him and then at River.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and turned to Elks, who was removing a notebook and quill. He dabbed the quill in his mouth and rested the tip on his notebook. The book and quill remained in the air, preparing the writing as he crossed his arms again and looked at her.

“Did your parents ever tell you anything or did you overhear anything about anyone they suspected to be Death Eaters or to be working with He Who Shall Not be Named?” He asked.

River glanced at Dumbledore and he nodded his head. She thought back to the few conversations they would have about work whilst she was at home. Not mentioning too much.

“They mentioned family names,” she said truthfully. “The Malfoys, the Blacks, Goyle, Crabbe and a few others. Those who seemed to follow similar ideologies with Purebloods.”

“This was a suspicion of theirs?” he asked, raising a brow and pursing his lips.

“Pureblood families don’t have the best reputation, sir,” she replied, catching a smirk from Dumbledore. “I’ve met enough of them to know that they don’t disagree with You Know Who. They are more than happy to encourage it. But I cannot confirm if they knew anything more than a simple suspicion as they never spoke about their work if they could help it.”

Elks looked annoyed and disappointed. He nodded and seemed to find the answer satisfactory. “Now your parents left everything they had in your name. Including documents linked to their work. They are rumoured to be hidden away at your family home, is that true?”

“I wouldn’t know, Sir,” she replied calmly, seeming to anger Elks further.

“How can you not know?” he asked, sounding snappy and cross.

“Well I haven’t returned home since,” she replied bluntly.

“Why not?”

“Elks, this is about her parents time as Auror’s, not about where she does and doesn’t spend her time,” Dumbledore cut in, staring blankly at the Ministry Man, who shot Dumbledore a rather ugly look.

“Fine!” He snapped. “But if at any point you find yourself in the property any information linked to Death Eaters or He Who Shall Not be Named will need to be handed over to the Auror department.”

River nodded.

“Now finally,” said Elks, sounding happy that this interview was coming to an end. “What can you tell me off the letter you received on your seventeen birthday?”

River did not reply. Something didn’t sit right with her. How did he know about the letter…? She asked herself. Dumbledore caught her eye, it almost seemed as though he was telling her not to say anything. She took a deep breath and turned up Elks.

“What letter?” she asked, forcing herself to sound believable. “The only thing I received was a wristwatch and a card they’d had left to a friend.”

Elks seemed taken aback by that information, but the quill wrote it down before he collected that and the notebook from the air, stuffing them into his jacket pocket.

“Well if that’s all,” said Dumbledore, looking between Elks and the fireplace. “I’m sure Miss Storme will be more than willing to relay any information she may come across.”

“Albus,” he simply said, stepping into the fireplace and vanishing in a whoosh of green flames.

River waited nervously while Dumbledore waited for the fire to die down and eventually extinguish itself, the tips of his long fingers together.

“Professor,” River said quietly. “My mum did send a letter.”

“I’m aware,” said Dumbledore gently. “She had asked me to hold onto the letter, card and watch for you.”

River was a little shocked by this information, but at the same time relieved that Dumbledore had been the one to keep hold of something so precious.

“River,” his voice lowered to a whisper. “Only three people knew of that letters’ existent. Myself, your mother and now you. So, I find myself in a peculiar position, wondering how Master Elks had this information.”

River didn’t know how to respond and simply shrugged her shoulders. There were too many thoughts swimming around in her head at that moment to think about one thing in particular. Then a thought suddenly appeared. 

“Professor…” she began. “The letter wasn’t finished though. There was a page missing and I think it’s at home.”

“Leave it with me, Miss Storme,” said Dumbledore kindly. “You may return to your lesson.”

“Thank you, professor,” she said, getting up and making for the door. Leaving her with quite a bit to think about.


	16. You Cannot be Sirius...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Break isn't going to be as lonely as River thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut and things.

Two weeks she would have to find something to do to keep herself amused until Lily, Beth and the boys returned from Winter Break.

She and Sirius had not had any time alone since as neither of them wanted to draw attention to whatever they were currently up to.

Christmas at Hogwarts would not be all bad though, she thought to herself as she made her way back up to Gryffindor tower. She was at least optimistic that her homework and schoolwork for the next year would at least be completed.

“Cornish Pixie,” she said to the Fat Lady, who smiled and opened the door to the common room. As she stepped inside it felt oddly silent and empty, this was the first time in a while she was alone. She took a seat by the fireplace on her favourite armchair and took a deep breath, a lot of thoughts now swimming through her mind.

A few other students entered the common room, after saying goodbye to their friends. A couple of first years and a seventh year that River did not recognise. She was happily listening to the crackling of the fire, looking out at the snow, blowing against the window.

BANG!

River shot around to the portrait hole.

“Oops…” said a voice from just outside.

River got to her feet and waited, watching as a levitating trunk appeared, followed by the outstretched arm and wand of Sirius Black.

“What…?” River muttered as he crossed the threshold, looking rather happy with himself. “Aren’t you meant to be on the train back to London?”

Sirius lowered his trunk with a thud and strode over to River. Taking her neck in one hand and her waist in the other, pressing his lips against hers much to her surprise. She kissed him back, placing her hands on his side and pulling him close, closing her eyes and feeling that rush of pleasure at his touch. When they broke apart, Sirius was smirking.

“I couldn’t leave you alone over Christmas,” he whispered, his grey eyes looking deep into hers. “You could have said something at least. I had to find out from Lily.”

She tried not to smile but failed miserably. “I don’t want you all feeling sorry for me. You have families to go home to.”

“You’re kidding,” he chuckled. “I think we’d all feel miserable if we all left you. If you said something sooner, we could have gone to James’ parents for Christmas. But now… I suppose you’re stuck with me at Hogwarts.”

She cupped his jaw with her hand, giving him a gentle kiss on his stubbly cheek.

“I can think of worse ways to spend Christmas,” she muttered.

River did feel partly guilty that Sirius would have to spend Christmas away from the Potters, but she was happy for the company at least and some time alone with Sirius. The guilt completely left her the moment he kissed her again, this time with more intensity, gently bit her lip, before taking her hand and moving back.

“I probably… Should go and unpack…” he said. “… Care to keep me company?”

River nodded and smiled as he waved his wand and levitated the trunk towards the stairs to the boy’s dormitory.

***

One thing River found strange about Hogwarts during Winter Break was how large the castle really was and how quiet it was without any students around. She had spent the past few days hidden away in the common room with Sirius, rather curled up on the sofa by the fire or in his dorm room. One thing she respected about Sirius was the fact he did not pressure her in any way and continued to act as though they were good friends.

They had not discussed what they were or where it was going and she was happy with that, because it took the pressure off them both.

Another thing River found with Winter Break was how cheerful and relaxed the teachers were without hundreds of students to babysit. McGonagall was practically beaming, and Flitch could be heard humming and singing, not having to deal with pranks and tricks numerous times a day. The lack of students in the school also meant there were fewer Aurors and Ministry folk around, which made the school feel a little less hostile.

A couple of days before Christmas River was dragged down to the entrance hall by Sirius, both of them wrapped up warm. He took her hand and they started to trudge through the snow in the courtyard, making their way to the bridge leading to the grounds.

“Tell me…” River began, concentrating hard on her footsteps. “… Why are we out here instead of in the warm common room?”

Sirius smirked at her. He turned off at the Whomping Willow, heading toward the Forbidden Forest and away from the Lake, then turned down the now invisible pathway to Hagrid’s Home.

River could make out the lump of snow and chimney pot that was the little hut. Smoke spewing from the Chimney and Hagrid’s gardens covered in a good foot of snow, burying any crops that may have been growing there.

Sirius stopped at the door and knocked. River heard a frantic scrambling from inside and several booming bards. Then Hagrid’s voice rang out, saying: “Back, you two!”

Hagrid opened the door and let them in, struggling to hold onto the collars of his two enormous black boarhounds.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

“Make yerselves at home,” said Hagrid, letting go of the boarhounds, who bounded straight at Sirius, also knocking him to the ground.

“Hey Hagrid,” said Sirius. “I think you know River.”

“Went ter school with yeah parents,” he said proudly, as he poured boiling water into a large teapot and put some rock cakes onto a plate. “No finer witch or wizard, if yeah ask me.”

River smiled and took a seat at the dining table. “They spoke about you as well Hagrid,” she replied. “They used to say there wasn’t a nicer person you’d ever meet.”

Hagrid beamed as he poured the tea into cups and offered River sugar and milk. Sirius had finally fought the dogs off and was removing his coat and scarf, taking a seat beside River and rubbing his hands together to warm them.

“I thought you’d be heading ter the Potters, Sirius,” Hagrid stated, taking a bite of a rock cake and swallowing it was some tea.

“Can’t leave this one all alone,” he nodded and smirked at River. “She’d miss me too much.”

River raised he brow and scoffed. “Is that what you think?” she replied. “I had plans Black, and you ruined them.”

“Ah yes,” he laughed. “Two weeks of schoolwork. How riveting.”

Hagrid looked between the pair of you, and grinned knowingly, but resisted saying anything as River caught his eye and turned pink.

“Ah, Christmas at Hogwarts is a great time,” said Hagrid. “Christmas day with a big meal, a few glasses o’ sherry and a few carols. Flitch‘ill be grateful that James isn’t ‘ere either. ‘e has a fair amount ter say abou’ the pair of you when yeah together. Although this year, yeh’ve been behavin’ from what McGonagall says.” Hagrid nodded at River and give Sirius a wink.

“We don’t like to repeat ourselves,” said Sirius. “It’s getting harder to think of more creative ideas, now we’ve done almost everything.”

“It tha’ the reason?” Hagrid smirked.

River enjoyed the day at Hagrids. Hagrid told her all about his time at Hogwarts and everything Dumbledore had done for him. He’d also lost his dad at a young age and told River that it gets easier with time, and River found it comforting to know some many people, like Hagrid and McGonagall knew what she was going through and would be going through for a long time.

When they reached the common room after dinner, they went up to their separate dorms and changed into something less damp and cold, returning to the common room not long after. She sat on the sofa, resting her back on the arm of the chair and her legs over Sirius’s lap. He kept running one hand up and down her thigh whilst his other hand just rested there comfortably. River’s mind kept wondering and her heart rate quicken as she thought of things she wanted to do to Sirius. When she caught his eye, she snapped out of it, saying the first thing that came to her mind.

“Sirius…”

“Hmm…” he smiled at her.

“Why don’t you talk about your family?” she asked, a little cautious of the subject. She knew Sirius did not live with them anymore and knew he was related to Bellatrix, which to her always seemed odd as they were very, very different.

“There’s not a lot to know about them,” he replied calmly. “I mean you know what Bellatrix is like, and I’m sure you’ve probably heard about my brother Regulus in third year by now from Lily and Remus, with the amount of trouble he gets into from bullying.”

“I just want to hear what it’s been like living with them, from your point of view,” she replied calmly.

He sighed and stopped stroking her thigh, looking at the dancing flames, deep in thought.

“Well…” he began, turning to her again, looking into her eyes. “… I can’t say I’ve ever fit in with their Pureblood mania. They are very picky with who they associate themselves with. I grew up with people like Lucius, Bellatrix, Dolohov and Zabini. All Pureblood families. My uncle, who me and Regulus spent summers with had a very different point of view. He was against their view on Muggle-borns and Half-bloods, not like he would dare say anything as he would never get to see us again.

I tolerated my vile family until I got my Hogwarts letter, then I knew what I wanted. I wanted to get away from the Slytherins and away from them as much as I could. I used to spend Christmas at Mr and Mrs Potters from my first year and spent the majority of my summers with James, Remus and Peter. Over the past summer, I had an argument with my mother and father, as they knew I intended to be an Auror. Let’s just say, that wasn’t what they wanted, and as I was almost seventeen, they decided I had overstayed my welcome and cast me out. Since then I have been living with James. I intend to get my own place next summer if I get a chance to.”

“Well if it helps,” River muttered. “I’m happy you got away from them and I’m happy you’re a Gryffindor… Even if you are a mass womaniser.” River smirked, watching as Sirius’ expression change from sombre to amused.

He started stroking her thigh again, giving her a cocky grin, shaking his head.

“Where does everyone get this mass womaniser thing from?” he paused. “They act like I’m with a different girl every other week.”

“Well aren’t you normally?”

“Well… Yes,” he laughed. “But that’s not the point. It’s a lot more innocent than it made out to be. I get asked on a date, I agree to go and when there’s no spark there, it doesn’t go any further…”

River gave him a look that made him laugh awkwardly.

“Ok,” he said. “Maybe a kiss here and there. But that’s about it.”

River laughed, placing her hand on his, getting another look from Sirius, this time a more devious look.

“Well, based on rumours,” he began. “Aren’t you meant to be with somebody different every other week?”

“Oh,” she chuckled. “You’re really going to go there?”

“I’m just evening out the playing field,” he said with a wink. “So, what’s the truth behind all that?”

“Well don’t get any ideas,” she said. “I’m about as exciting as a brick when it comes to dating. I mean, Dean was my first kiss, unfortunately. But the rumours were all down to your cousin and her Slytherin friends. In fourth year, they separated our classes from the Slytherins and because they could not bully me and hex me in person, they started rumours.

I think for me, what made it worse was the fact that people so desperately did not want there to be rumours about themselves, they believed everything about me. I had so many boys in different years publicly telling me that they were not interested along with a few insults thrown in. Honestly, I’m shocked you and the boys didn’t hear anything about me being madly in love with you all.”

Sirius shrugged but looked annoyed and concerned. “I’d heard something last year. So did Remus. But why on earth would we say anything? We didn’t know you.”

“Some stupid crap about not wanting the fat, ugly, Gryffindor girl liking you because it could affect your image?” she laughed, shaking her head at how stupid it really was.

“I can’t say I ever thought those things about you,” he replied sweetly.

She smiled, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek, before resting against the chair arm again.

“I do think it made me a little cautious though,” she continued. “When Dean ask me out on a date, I didn’t know how to react and was extremely suspicious. That boy didn’t even look at me before summer, and suddenly, I change drastically, and everyone now views me as some tragic little Orphan hero, they all want to be friends with.”

“Is that why you think I’m around?” Sirius shifted awkwardly.

“Honestly…?”

He nodded his head.

“I want worried at first,” she said calmly. “When you spoke to me in Flourish and Blotts… Well, I had heard that same thing again and again. People offering to be my friend and help me out at school. But… When school started, all these people were pleasant and nice, but did not want to be friends or to speak to me a whole lot, or even help me out. I think they were afraid I would just spend my time crying and being miserable. Then there were you idiots, treating me like nothing had happened, acting like we’d been friends for years, just being normal and not treating me like glass.”

“I normally find treating someone like they’re going to break, normally makes it worse,” he said. “I’d hate to have people stepping on eggshells around me after I’d just gone through something traumatic.”

The portrait swung open and stopped the conversation. The seventh-year, River did not know entered the common room. He looked as though he had been up to something, and the marks on his neck confirmed it.

“Well, well, Williams,” Sirius laughed at the tall ginger boy. “Aren’t we having a Merry Christmas break?”

The ginger boy looked guiltily at Sirius and River but grinned sheepishly. He did not stick around, heading up to his dorm room.

“It’ll be pretty interesting when term starts,” Sirius said to River in a hushed tone. “He’s in a relationship with Amy Fisher, who is currently away for Christmas.”

River let out a low whistle. “Is this why you stuck around?” she laughed. “Worried I’ll run off with someone else during Christmas break?”

Sirius moved closer to her, the tip of his nose pressing against hers. “Got your eye on someone else, have you?”

River smiled, looking deep into his grey eyes, trying to read his thoughts, wondering what he wanted to do at this exact moment if she allowed him to. “Worried…?” she whispered.

Sirius chuckled, moving his hand to her waist, pulling her onto his lap. She brought her lips to his, biting his lower lip a little, teasing him. A soft moan escaped his mouth as she moved down to his neck, kissing and biting his delicate skin.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” she whispered in his ear, breathing heavily.

Sirius did not reply, he just led her out of the common room and up the stairs to his dormitory. Before they had even managed to get into the bedroom, he pushed her up against the door, wrapping his fingers in her hair, pulling her closer, kissing her passionately, his lips hot with need. River moaned against his lips as she felt him growing hard against her. He reached for the door handle, opening the door slightly, unable to stop himself or move.

When they heard sounds in the common room, Sirius picked her and wrapped her legs around his waist, carrying her across the room to his bed, using his wand to slam the door behind them. He sat down, River straddling his waist. She gently moved back and forth, teasing him, listening to him swear under his breath as squeezed her arse, digging his nails in hard.

She wanted this… needed this more than anything else right now. She helped him remove his shirt, revealing his somewhat scarred arms and torso. He moved his hands up, under her shirt, making her skin tingle as he removed it revealing the few scars River also had on her rib cage. Sirius broke the kiss, breathing heavily. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear as he looked into her eyes.

“Are you sure you want to?” he whispered, pulling her close.

“Yes…” she whispered back, hardly able to catch her breath.

Sirius gently picked her up and laid her down, sliding between her legs, letting her feel how desperately he wanted her. He continued kissing her, moving down to her neck, forcing a moan to escape her lips. The only thing she wanted, needed right now was Sirius Black.


	17. The Calm Before the Storme...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war is intensifying, sooner or later River will have to face her fears and return home.

Christmas Break had flown by and before River knew it January had begun. Lily and Beth returned from their holidays and the boys were more than happy to spend time at school and away from worrying parents. Peter’s mum desperately wanted her son to stay home and at one point tied him to the radiator to make sure he could not go anywhere. This proved unsuccessful. Even Beth’s parents were trying to get her to leave school, but she assured them that the precautions Dumbledore was taking was keeping the Death Eaters and any of You Know Who followers, away.

Sirius and River still had not spoken about what they were if they were even anything, but they did both agree that neither of them wanted to be with anyone else, whatever than meant. They also both agreed it might be wise to tell their friends, as it was not exactly going to stay quiet for long if they kept sneaking off.

On the first couple of nights, they didn’t say anything but did sneak down to the common room for a bit of peace and quiet in the early hours, which normally resulted in them hidden in the darkest corner, being as quiet as possible, even though it was extremely hard.

After their first day back in lessons, they all sat in the boy's dormitory talking about how Christmas had affected Professor Prodd, who was now a hundred times worse and now taught from his office, shouting instructions through the crack in his door.

“Teaching is going to be the death of him,” said James, shaking his head. “What was Dumbledore thinking, hiring him?”

“Like anyone else would take the job,” said Remus. “We all know that job’s cursed. A Muggle could probably apply and get the position, at least until something happened to them.”

River caught Sirius’ eye from across the room and that desperate rush of wanting came over her, she took a deep breath and opened her mouth…

“Sirius and I are a… Something…” she blurted out.

All eyes were on her, except Sirius who was quietly laughing at the statement. Everyone was unsure how to react and kept looking from Sirius to River, trying to decide what to say.

“What’s a something?” Remus finally asked, looking at Sirius for an answer.

“We… erm…” He replied, smiling awkwardly.

The groups face lit up, Lily and Beth giving River a look, clearly wondering if he and she.

“Are you two a couple?” James asked bluntly.

River shrugged, looking at Sirius for an answer.

“Ask him,” she said, turning a little pink, worried she’ll say the wrong thing.

“I haven’t asked,” Sirius shrugged in reply.

Remus covered his face with his hands and shook his head, sighing at Sirius. “Well, do you like each other?” he asked, looking between the pair of them.

“He’s alright,” River said.

“Yeah, she’s alright,” he agreed.

“You’re both fucking idiots,” James added, laughing. “I think we’ll need a bit more than that.”

“Hem-Hem!”

River and the others shot around to the entrance to the boy’s bedroom. Beside the door was a small portrait that was normally black, as no one seemed to be inside of it, but now there was a short man with a very puffy collar and large moustache, holding up a scroll, waiting for all attention to be on him before he continued.

“The Headmaster and Professor McGonagall need all Gryffindor students to enter the common room immediately!” he squeaked, rolling up his scroll, bowing at the group and leaving his frame.

“This cannot be good,” Lily muttered.

They didn’t wait around. As they opened the door to the stairs, they found the other students already making their way to the common room, muttering to one another. They followed on, getting to the full common room below, where Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall awaited them.

River had a bad feeling about this, both Professors looked grave. Something must have happened that very same day and this was another warning before they’d find out in the morning from the news and from worried parents.

Sirius was beside River, gently taking her hand into his and squeezing it reassuringly.

Once everyone had settled Professor McGonagall spoke.

“We have just received news from the Ministry of Magic,” she glanced at Dumbledore, who was busy scanning the crowd. “There was an attack on the Minister herself, which proved unsuccessful. But in the process, those protecting the Minister for Magic and a few innocent party members were killed at the hands of He Who Shall Not be Named and his so-called Death Eaters.”

There was an intake of breath and some mumbling.

“Those students affected have been informed and the names of the fifteen killed have been released,” McGonagall continued. “For a time, we hoped Hogwarts would be just a place of safety and learning. The Ministry, the parents and the teachers agreed we would not tell you more than you needed to know. But now, the Ministry and parents have agreed that you all must be informed in order to keep yourselves safe and report any unusual activity within these walls.”

“Are we going to be sent home Professor?” A fifth-year boy raised his hand and asked in a worried tone.

“Those students who wish to return home will be allowed to do so,” it was Professor Dumbledore who replied. “Some parents intend to collect students in the coming weeks, but the school will remain open with Ministry protection for as long as students wish to learn within these walls.”

“Until further notice, trips to Hogsmeade will be cancelled and all students must return to their common rooms after dinner,” McGonagall added.

They returned to the boy’s dormitory in silence, some students crying and others comforting them. But everyone was afraid, afraid for themselves and afraid for their friends and families.

Sirius hadn’t let go of River’s hand as they entered the bedroom, they stood side by side, Sirius pressing his lips against her temple whilst the others sat down and tried to process what was happening.

“Well I don’t plan on leaving,” James was first to speak. “What’s the point of waiting at home for something to happen?”

“I know if I mention anything, mum and dad will drag me home,” said Lily. “I’d rather keep them in the dark.”

“Mum knows I’m safer here,” added Remus.

“I think mine’s hoping I’ll be next,” added Sirius, half-grinning.

“I don’t really fancy returning to the flat when I could be here,” said River, releasing Sirius’ hand and putting her arm around his waist. He moved his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

There was a tap at the window, and everyone looked around, half expecting it to be a Death Eater. Instead, it was a jet-black owl with amber eyes waited patiently to get in.

“Archie,” said James, hurrying over to the window and opening it, allowing the owl to flutter into the room and land on his shoulder.

James took the letter he was holding in his beak, before hooting feebly and flying to a high point in the bedroom to warm himself. James quickly opened the letter, scanned it and shrugged.

“Dad said we can come home if we want to,” he looked at Sirius and River. “You too Riv. But they also understand if we want to stay here.”

River felt a rush of gratitude for Mr and Mrs Potter, who had never met her but still wanted to help her in any way they could. They even wrote to her during Christmas, asking her if she wanted to stay during the summer, so she wasn’t by herself in the flat. They also said she is more than welcome to stop by any time.

“I stand by it,” said Remus. “We’re safer here, than anywhere else. You Know Who isn’t foolish enough to go up against Dumbledore.”

***

At breakfast the next day, owls flooded the Great Hall with copies of the Daily Profit and letters from home.

Lily and Beth were on either side of River, squeezing against her as they read the newspaper together. Reading through names. River recognised a few of them, as some had been colleagues of her parents and a few arrests had been made. Death Eaters who, not surprisingly, had the same surnames as those in Slytherin.

“I better go write to mum,” said Beth, holding a letter from her worried mother. “She’ll probably turn up here if I don’t.”

She waved as she departed, just in time for James and Sirius to turn up and join them.

James sitting beside Lily, who was oddly, very pleased to see him and Sirius sitting beside River, slyly taking her hand under the table and kissing her cheeks, not like anyone noticed.

Those same butterflies filled her stomach every time he was around, they were just nowhere near as aggressive now that they had finally gotten what they wanted. Sirius Black.

“Peter’s mum wants him home,” said James, buttering some toast. “She’s with Dumbledore now.”

“Peter’s gone to try and calm her down,” Sirius added. “But she has a habit of going a bit mental.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” said James.

“You can’t blame her though,” said River. “I think all the parents are worried something might happen to them or any of us.”

Remus soon joined them looking disgruntled. “Lessons are cancelled today,” he said, sighing. “Dumbledore and the other teachers are dealing with Parents and the Ministry, trying to calm the situation.”

“That bad?” Lily asked.

Remus nodded slowly. “They’re trying to work something out, as most students want to stay. Their parents on the other hand want them home and the Ministry can’t offer any more protection as they’re trying to fight a war.”

Lily sighed but tried to find something positive in the current situation.

“At least we have all day to catch up with homework,” she beamed.

River, Sirius, James and Remus got up from the table and walked towards the exit.

“Guys!” Lily called after them. “I was kidding!”


	18. Dumbledore's Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River is asked to see Professor Dumbledore.

Dementors now patrolled the outskirts of the school grounds by order of the Ministry, which meant sneaking out of school for James and Sirius was now a near-impossible task.

Parents had finally come around to the idea of allowing their children to remain at Hogwarts, but the past two weeks had been a constant debate with a lot of arguing and disagreements. Dumbledore reluctantly agreed to the Dementors and agreed to allow the post to be scanned before being handed over to students.

A lot of Slytherins also found themselves been taken from lessons to be interview by the ministry, only those with names linked to those arrested or those suspected to be Death Eaters. All of them had managed to convince the ministry they were law-abiding Witches and Wizards, but when they were with friends they spoke about their plans for when they left Hogwarts, which was brought to the attention of the teachers, but nothing could be done without evidence and a lot of those Slytherins bragging about You Know Who, all had Pureblood fanatic families.

Bellatrix practically fawned over You Know Who, she and Lucius Malfoy could have started a fan club. Sirius even mentioned that his brother, Regulus, was rumoured to be taking an interest in the current war. But it was something Sirius tried to ignore as he was sure; Regulus was just doing what he thought his parents wanted.

Tensions in the school had never been higher and the divide between Slytherin house and the other three had never been bigger.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if half of them were already Death Eaters,” spat James as they sat in the courtyard one break time. He was glaring at Bellatrix, Dolohov, and Snape, who were all huddled together talking and laughing.

Lily hadn’t spoken to Severus since the first week back after Winter Break and she had asked Professor Slughorn to change partners in Potions. From what she had told River, Lily had written to Severus during Winter Break, which resulted in him replying with a long letter about James and Sirius, with something about her being like every other girl who worshipped the ground they walked on. What made it worse was on the Sunday before school started James, Lily and Remus bumped into Snape in the corridor, which resulted in a lot of arguing and Snape calling Lily and ‘Mudblood’.

Their friendship was well and truly over at this point and Severus spent all his time with that same group of people who were vile to both River and Lily.

“At least when we’re Aurors we’ll be able to hex that smug look off their faces,” said Sirius, laughing. “I’d love to get back at Bella.”

“Get in line,” said River, smirking.

“I’ve got my sights on Malfoy,” said James. “That stuck up, pompous buffoon needs taking down a peg or… six.”

“Don’t let Dumbledore hear you saying that…” said Lily, looking sad as she glanced at Severus. “He’s really trying to unite the houses, but… Well… I think too much damage has already been done.”

“I am more than willing you unite with the Slytherins…” Sirius began. “As long as they grovel to me and admit they were foolish and wrong.”

Lily sighed. “I suppose we always have the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws on our side. Part of me thinks the different houses weren’t really thought through too well.”

“I don’t know,” said James. “Helps point out the people you should avoid.”

Lily rolled her eyes. Beth unglued herself from Peter’s lips and wiped her mouth. “I agree with Lily. If we were all in the same house they probably wouldn’t be some much hate towards one another.”

“I don’t think Gryf-Slyv-Puff-Claw has the same ring to it,” Remus laughed, and they all chuckled along with him.

“Fat chance people like Malfoy and Bellatrix would want to be associated with any of us either,” added James.

“Storme!” River looked around to see Hanna Zabini walking over, holding a letter.

“Hey Hanna,” said River.

The group smiled at Hanna and she beamed around at them all. Hanna really was a different person now. A happier person, she was also dating Gryffindor Kevin Williams, who was far from an arrogant Quidditch player and was actually very nice.

“Dumbledore asked me to give you this,” she handed River the envelope.

River took it and thanked her. Hanna could not stick around as the bespectacled boy with black hair, Kevin Williams, was waiting for her at the entrance. She waved them all off and hurried over to him.

River opened the letter and read the few words:

‘Eight o’clock tonight, in my office. Bring the letter, Professor Dumbledore.”

“Think he’s found something?” Lily asked, scanning the Letter.

River shifted uncomfortably. “Let’s hope so,” she replied. “But at the same time, let's hope I don’t have to go back to my parents’ house.”

By seven-thirty, she excused herself from the common room, kissing Sirius at the portrait hole before she left with the letter stuff in her robes.

The lamps in Dumbledore’s office were lit, the portraits of the previous headmasters and headmistresses were snoring gently in their frames, and Dumbledore’s desk was full of letters and newspapers. Dumbledore was sat behind his desk, looking worn out. The twinkle that was normally in his eyes was no longer there

“Miss Storme,” he said, smiling weakly.

“You wanted to see me, Professor?”

“Please,” he gestured to the seat in front of his desk, then waved his wand, vanishing the letters and newspapers.

River took the seat and instinctively to the fireplace, half expecting Mr Elks to be standing there with his arms cross and a nasty look on his face. But the only thing there were the dancing flames and Dumbledore’s Phoenix on his perch warming his feathers.

“Oh,” said River, she dug her hand into her pocket and took out the letter, placing it on the desk.

“Thank you, Miss Storme,” Dumbledore said gently. “May I?”

River nodded. Dumbledore took the letter and scanned it, turning it over when he reached the final line and frowning. Clearly, he was wondering where the other part of the letter could be, which made River worry she would have to return to her parents’ home.

“It’s odd,” Dumbledore began. “I don’t think this was some simple mistake. Your mother was a very intelligent Witch and if this entire letter had any other information linked to the ministry or Lord Voldemort…” (River winced at the name) “… then I think, she must have hidden it elsewhere. Hoping at some point you would find it and turn it into the right people.”

“Do you think…” River began. “… they knew something they shouldn’t have?”

“Well…” Dumbledore began. “You and I both know their cause of death was not stated. Only that they were killed in the line of duty and there have been whispers for some time now, linked to ministry members. Ministry members who are thought to be working with the Death Eaters and Voldemort.”

River bit her lip at the sound of his name again, feeling uncomfortable with this information. “Do you think Elks…?”

Dumbledore waved his hand, but the look in his eye said otherwise. “That… is a worrying idea,” he said calmly. “But I must ask a favour, Miss Storme, regarding your parents’ home and the possibility of their belongings, contain information that could aid the ministry or information that could risk your life.”

River’s heart sank at the words. There was also a risk to her own life, being the daughter of Aurors and she was aware of that, but the thought of returning home, made her stomach feel like lead. She still was not ready; she was sure she never would be.

“I won’t ask you to come with me,” he said reassuringly. “But it would be an immense help if you did.”

“Professor I…” River paused, trying to steady her breathing. “… I don’t know if I can.”

Dumbledore smiled sweetly. “Ask I said, there is no pressure. But I would at least like you to think it through before giving me your final answer. You have until the beginning of February. I have some matters to take care of before then. I would suggest you return to your dorm Miss Storme and talk it over with your friends. I am sure they will help you decide. Good night.”

River nodded, a little taken aback. She got to her feet quickly. “Good night, Professor.”


	19. Mr and Mrs Potter...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River and Sirius try and fail to get some time alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interrupted Smut?

It had been a week since Dumbledore had asked River to think about returning back to her parents’ home and she had been through it more than enough times with Lily, Beth, and the boys, constantly seesawing between staying and going. It was fast approaching February and their lessons were starting to get harder and their homework load had increased.

Their exams were in a couple of months and the teachers were carrying on as though it was a typical school year, even though they were not overly fond of the Ministry folk. River had bumped into a rather nasty Auror after on transfiguration lesson, which almost lead to McGonagall starting a fight with him after he rudely shouted at River.

There had also been complaints from Ministry members as James and Sirius had taken to pranking the less pleasant ones. Although they were there to keep them safe, River did not feel overly safe, not with the nasty glances from some and sarcastic remarks about the unimportance of watching over a school.

One afternoon, a couple of days before the first of February Sirius and River started walking over to their potions class. Lily, Remus, and James had all been huddled in the Library as they were growing tired of the common room. Just as they came to the last corridor, Sirius pulled River behind a tapestry and down a hidden passageway. Another part of the castle she never knew existed.

“What…?”

“Shush!” he placed his finger to his lips, following the dimly lit passage. They came to a door and Sirius pushed it open. They emerged in, what seemed like an old storeroom, that had clearly been forgotten about. Sirius muttered a spell and a few candles flickered to life in the windowless room.

The walls had a few muggle and wizard posters on them, and there were four cushions that were now twice their normal size. As well as a few other things, River assumed the boys had brought here over their time at Hogwarts.

“We’re going to be late,” River whispered as Sirius closed the door behind them, moving his behind her, his hands around her waist as he started to kiss her neck.

River felt those same butterflies in her stomach, aggressive and desperate to something, anything with him.

“Slughorn’s ill today,” Sirius muttered.

“And how would you…” she paused moving her hands to his. “… Know that… Unless…” She shook her head, realising Sirius, and probably James had something to do with it.

“So, I thought…” he grinned, as he turned her around, moving one of his hands through her hair, the other one on her waist, pulling her against him. “… We could have some time alone…”

“Hmm… Well… you’ll have to tempt me…” she looked into Sirius’s eyes, his lips moving to hers, determined and eager.

He picked her up and pinned her against the wall, digging his hands into her thighs and she started to remove his tie and unbutton his shirt, moaning as she felt him getting harder between her legs.

“… They’re not going to find out…” The door opened and Sirius dropped River to her feet, shielding her from view as two faces emerged, both looking equally shocked to find others here.

“Lily…?” River stepped out from behind Sirius, grinning from ear to ear, giving Sirius a chance to rearrange his uniform. “James…?”

She and Sirius exchanged grins.

“Oh, fuck off,” Sirius laughed, crossing his arms. “You’re joking!?”

River and Sirius looked down to see Lily and James holding hands, looking guiltier by the second. Lily quickly let go and pulled her hand away.

“It’s… It’s not what you think!” Lily stated her cheeks a furious shade of red to match her hair. “Right, James!” She nudged him hard in his ribcage.

“Yeah,” James replied, frowning as he rubbed his side. “We were coming here to study.”

But when he met Sirius’ eye it was a dead giveaway, that the only thing they were going to study was each other. River could not keep a straight face, as Lily look embarrassed like she would rather be anywhere but here right now.

“Sit your backsides down and get talking!” Sirius nodded at the pillows, flicking his wand to light more candles.

He and River smartened themselves up as they joined James and Lily, closing the door once again and sitting across from the pair of guilty looking Gryffindors.

“Go on then,” said River, crossing her arms, grinning.

James remained silent, looking at Lily, not sure if he should say anything or not. Lily was looking at him and debating exactly the same thing. Lily mouthed something to James that River didn’t catch and James shrugged, mouthing something back in return.

“Prongs,” said Sirius. “You rather tell us now, or we’ll bring this up at dinner later and you can tell everyone else as well.”

Lily frowned. “You wouldn’t!”

“Try me,” Sirius retorted, looking smug.

“Fine!” Lily snapped. “We’ve been dating for the past few weeks.”

“Well fuck,” River blurted out, laughing at the same time. “I can’t say I saw that coming… I honestly thought there was a higher chance of Peter coming out as a Death Eater.”

“Pft,” Sirius laughed. “Yeah, that’ll happen.”

“I mean James and Lily are dating,” River said, unable to wipe the grin from her face. “Clearly nothing is impossible now.”

Lily had her face hidden in her hands, shaking her head and James was looking extremely sheepish, neither of them had expected this. But River nor Sirius had expected to catch their best friends sneaking off together, after five and half years of complaints about James Potter from Lily.

“Well, it’s kind of your fault,” Lily said to River. “We started spending time with the boys because they wanted to keep an eye on you.”

“Ah yes,” River laughed. “Let me apologise because you want to play tonsil tennis with Mr. Potter.”

Lily frowned and went back to hiding her face.

“Lily, there’s nothing to be ashamed about,” River dropped her grin and put her hand on Lily’s knee.

“I just thought,” Lily sighed. “You’d all be tutting and rolling your eyes after all the time I’ve spent complaining about him.” She looked at James. “Sorry, about that by the way. But you were a pratt.”

Sirius scoffed and James tried to hold back a smile.

“Apology accepted?” I replied awkwardly.

“Oh, come on,” River looked between the pair of them. “I can’t talk. Did you honestly think I would be the one hidden away in the cupboard with Sirius Black? Me? The socially awkwardly idiot, that used to flinch when any boy spoke to her.”

“Things change Lil,” Sirius added comfortingly. “I didn’t exactly plan on falling for Riv, but she brings out the best in me.”

“You bring out the best in me,” James muttered, looking shyly at Lily.

It all seemed to be a little too much for Lily, who burst into tears and ran from the room. The boys looking as though they had done something to upset her, but River reassured them it was fine as she went after Lily, leaving James and Sirius to talk.

Lily thankfully was an easy one to find. When she was upset her main port of call was running away to the Library, hiding in the restricted section, as no one disturbed her and as a Prefect she could go there any time she wanted.

River approached Madam Prince and explained she had left something in the restricted section. The severe-looking Librarian waves her wand and the door unlocked, allowing River to pass through, thanking Madam Prince as she hurried down the shelves of books, finally finding Lily.

She was sat with her back against a bookshelf, her arms wrapped around her knees, hiding her face whilst she cried quietly.

“Lily,” River sighed, lowering herself to the ground next to Lily and wrapping her arms around her. “It’ll be alright.”

Lily sniffled and shook her head, refusing to look at River. “It’s all getting to be t-too much sometimes,” she muttered.

River assumed she was not talking about James. “Talk to me about it, Lily, it’s what I’m here for.”

“You’ve been through enough Riv,” she cried. “I don’t want to worry about me on top of everything else.”

River felt upset herself, hearing that Lily had kept quiet about a lot of things, just so she did not have to worry about her.

“Lily Evans,” River replied, squeezing her best friend tightly. “You don’t have to worry about me. You have spent enough time doing that. I am here to listen to everything you have to say, no matter how small. Just like you have always done for me. If I can fix it for you, I will. If I can’t, I’ll find a way. It’s ok to not be ok Lil.”

“But you’ve been through too much already,” Lily muttered, lifting her head up and looking at River with her red, tear-filled eyes.

“And I’ve had you, Beth, and everyone else to help me through it,” River said with a smile. “Now…” River began. “At least tell me James Potter is a decent kisser?”

Lily laughed and sniffled, wrapping her arms around River.


	20. The Old Storme House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River returns home for the first time since her parent's death.

River hadn’t expected to find herself outside of Dumbledore’s office again on the evening of the seventh of February, but the never-ending debate in her mind came swiftly to an end, as another attack was reported within the Ministry for Magic, this time from a worker under the Imperius Curse. The problem was, the Ministry had no leads as to who the caster was that left five workers dead and an Auror severely injured.

River spoke to Lily and Beth about it, and she knew the right thing to do was to locate any information leading to possible suspects or the actual truth behind her parent’s death. So, she made some excuse, so the boys didn’t ask questions, and hurried away to Dumbledore’s office, dressed in warm clothes, with her letter hidden away in her pocket. Dumbledore had handed her a letter a few days prior, stating the time and date he intended to visit the property.

She rapped at the door and a voice called out. She let herself in and stood in the doorway, looking between Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, who had cut their conversation short. McGonagall looking furious with him.

“Miss Storme, please come in. Professor McGonagall was just leaving.”

Professor McGonagall shook her head, debating if she should say anything to Dumbledore, but chose to keep her mouth shut in front of River. As she passed River, she put her hand on her shoulder. “Be safe,” she muttered, giving her a reassuring look, before disappearing from the room, closing the door behind her.

Dumbledore beamed at her as she walked towards his desk nervously.

“I take it by your choice in clothing you have made up your mind?” Dumbledore said kindly. 

“I think it’d be wise for me to join you after what happened at the Ministry,” she replied.

Dumbledore shook his head and sighed, looking down at his hands. “Another preventable attack. Unfortunately, the Ministry find themselves stretched too thin. The Muggle killings and attacks are almost daily and it’s taking everything in their power to keep the Muggles from discovering the truth behind it all.”

“I didn’t know there were more Muggle attacks, Professor?” River said, feeling worried for the Muggle Parents of Witches and Wizards.

“The Daily Profit only reports what it needs to and only the top Ministry Officials and Aurors are aware of the true number of casualties,” said Dumbledore.

“And how do you know?” River asked, knowing it was none of her business.

Dumbledore simply smiled and nodded at the portrait of Dilys Derwent, who was fast asleep in her frame, and then to the portrait of Professor Everard, who was snoring away.

River nodded, understanding. She had been to the Ministry herself as a child and knew there were portraits in the Aurors headquarters.

“Minister Bagnold also feels it best for me and the teachers here to be aware,” Dumbledore continued. “Which is why Professor McGonagall isn’t best pleased with me at the moment.”

River chose not to pry any further.

“Now,” Dumbledore got up from his armchair and made his way over to the fireplace. “We cannot Apparate from within the school grounds as I assume you are already aware. But the owner of the Hogshead is more than willing to allow us to use his fireplace. You’ve traveled by Floo Powered before?”

“My nose isn’t overly fond of it, but it’s the easiest way to get around,” said River.

“I’ll go first if you’ll follow on behind me,” said Dumbledore.

River nodded.

He took a pinch of glittering power from a pot nearby, stepped up to the fire, and threw the power into the flames.

With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Dumbledore, who stepped right into it and said, “The Hogshead!” and vanished.

The fire settled and turned back to its bright yellow and orange. River looked at the phoenix who cooed at her reassuringly. She took a pinch of the power and walked to the edge of the fire. She took a deep breath, scattered the power into the flames, and stepped forward. She opened her mouth, feeling her nose tickle uncomfortably.

“The Hogshead!” she said.

She felt as though she was being sucked down a giant drain. She seemed to be spinning very fast and the roar in her ears was deafening. She closed her eyes, wishing it would hurry up, then… her feet meet the ground.

River emerged in the Hogshead, the green fire dying out behind her. The barman glanced her way, mumbling something, before going back to cleaning a pewter mug. The pub was completely empty, but the new curfew in the Village must have been affecting business more than usual.

She followed Dumbledore to the door and out onto the cold and damp Highstreet. River could make out the silhouettes of the Dementors high in the sky, making her shiver.

“I’m not overly fond of them either,” Dumbledore stated, looking at the same Dementor. “Horrid creatures. But we must not dawdle. We only have a few hours before someone might realise, I’m gone.”

River nodded, looking away from the Dementor.

“Now,” said Dumbledore. “You can Apparate, I believe?”

“Yes,” said River. “Although, I haven’t done it since I passed my test.”

She felt it best, to be honest, worried that she might end up appearing on some old dear out doing her shopping.

“No matter,” said Dumbledore. “I can assist you. If you place your hand on my arm, Miss Storme. There is no need to grip too hard, I am simply guiding you. On the count of three. One. Two. Three!”

River turned. At once, there was that horrible sensation that she was being squeezed through a thick rubber tube’ only she could not draw breath, every part of her was being compressed almost past endurance and then, just when she thought she might suffocate, the invisible bands seemed to burst open, and she was standing in a familiar place, breathing in lungfuls of fresh country air.

River released Dumbledores arm, feeling that same sudden sense of dread was over her. Looking around the only road she had grown up. Houses were full of light and laughter, and the muggle cars were parked neatly in their driveways.

Dumbledore started rummaging around in his pocket, pulling out a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again, the next lamp flickered into darkness. Four more times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on were from the windows of the houses.

“I invented it myself,” said Dumbledore, asking River’s question as he put the lighter away. “Now I’ll need some guidance here, Miss Storme, as I cannot see your home.”

River nodded and looked to the house at the end of the street and made her way towards it. The house looked like any other house on the street. But the garden was overgrown, and the windows were dusty. No one had been there for nearly a year.

River stopped outside of it and Dumbledore stopped beside her, looking around into the night air, unaware there was a house right in front of him.

“Sir,” River said, feeling a little embarrassed. “How do I… Let you see the house?”

“Ah,” Dumbledore, smiled sweetly. “You simply have to tell me I can. I assume it is right ahead of us. Alas, I can only see a farmers field with a warning sign on the gate.”

River thought of the words she would say. “I, River Storme, give you Professor Dumbledore permission to enter my home.”

Just like that, Professor Dumbledores’ eye fixed on the property, looking from the roof to the front door and back to River. “Lovely,” he smiled, allowing River to go before him.

She took a deep breath and stepped through the gate and onto the path, leading to the front door. Feel her heart hammering against her ribs, and the weight of dread and anxiety on her shoulders.

“Take your time, River,” said Dumbledore.

She nodded, taking slow steps up the path, looking up at the two-story house, half expecting to see her parent's face in one of the windows, and that thought made her feel worse. As she stepped onto the porch, she gently placed her hand on the door handle, which went hot at her touch, before the sound of many locks echoed into the night air. The door swung open, revealing the long dark hallway.

River stepped over the threshold into the darkness of the hall. She could smell the damp, dust, and faint rotting smell coming from the direction of the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder, to see Dumbledore nodding, reassuring her that nothing would happen whilst he was around.

River took out her wand and mutter the incantation her parents so frequently did when they entered the house. There was a gentle buzzing sound as the light bulbs came to life, highlighting the layers of dust on every surface.

She looked to her left and found the Living Room exactly as it had been left, he fathers newspaper sat open on the story he was reading on the day he… River sighed, looking to her right. The dining room, which was never used was covered in dust and the wallpaper was not peeling away from the walls. She carried on a little further, passing the staircase and coming into the kitchen, which still had washing by the sink.

There was a lump in her throat, realising that her parents went out that day expecting to return home. Only they didn’t. It hit her like a ton of bricks, again and again as her eyes caught portraits of them together as a family and her Hogwarts letter pinned to the notice board in the kitchen.

“There office is through there,” River mumbled, pointing at the room beside the kitchen. The door was still closed, and the silver plaque read:

‘Mr. and Mrs. Storme.’

River moved aside and allowed Dumbledore to pass by. She stood in the kitchen, looking around at the small table and chairs, the cupboards, and the red and orange wallpaper she had always hated. She remembered complaining about it more than enough times to her parents and that thought made her smile, thinking about how silly it really was.

And the telephone that sat on the counter, which they had bought at the end of River’s first year, so she could contact Lily. Her mother was fascinated by it, she was so pleased when it would ring, and she would get to answer. There was a time when a man called asking if their ‘Refrigerator was working’ and somehow her mother had managed to keep the man on the line for a good solid hour talking about how amazing phones really were.

“Miss Storme,” Dumbledore reappeared. “I find myself asking you to help out once again. I cannot unlock the office door.”

“It was normally unlocked,” she replied, quietly. “You don’t think they’ve…?”

“It’s exactly what I think,” said Dumbledore. “I can’t imagine they left the room unprotected when they left the house.”

River nodded, making her way to the office door and taking hold of the handle, she felt that same heat the front door gave off, followed by the sounds of locks. The door swung open and she stepped inside the small office room, which was filled with paperwork and books on all the walls. Two desks were in the centre of the room, pushed together one with a basic desk chair tucked underneath and the other with a large leather armchair.

This room, unlike the others, had no dust, nor any wear and tear. Dumbledore followed her into the room.

“I don’t think finding the other half of this letter is going to be as easy as we thought Professor,” said River.

“We have time,” said Dumbledore reassuringly. “I can narrow it down a little though.”

Dumbledore muttered something and waved his wand. The books on the wall began to chatter, letting out any loose bits of paper if there were any. Only a few bookmarks and receipts flew into his open hand.

“Couldn’t we use Accio?” River asked, scanning the paperwork on the desks.

“You could try,” said Dumbledore. “But I think you’ll find it would summon every letter to you, which would most likely result in papercuts.”

River sighed and moved towards her mothers’ desk. “We best get started then,” she heard the words come out of her mouth but could not believe she said them.

Dumbledore gave her a small smile, taking a seat on her father's armchair, shifting through the mounds of paperwork and files. River looked through similar files, each containing the name of a well-known ministry official and a stamp saying ‘CLEARED’ in green.

She realised quite quickly, that her parents were investigating their own colleagues, making sure they were not working for You Know Who.

The final two files were for Harvey Elks and Augustus Rookwood, both still unstamped.

“Professor…” River piped up. “…I think my parents were looking into Elks before they died.”

“I think Master Elks may have been aware of that,” said Dumbledore, holding up a black leather-bound journal, containing a list of dates, locations, and movements under the name Harvey Elks. “He cornered your father, one day, by the sounds of it,” he continued, reading some of the writing. “And wasn’t best pleased they were looking into him. But that begs the questions, how did Elks know about the letter, and what did he think it said?”

“Do you think Elks is working with You Know Who?” River muttered, feeling a sense of dread.

“That, I cannot say. If there is evidence and your parents had found it. Well… it’s best not to think about that just yet.”

River sighed and nodded. Opening the draws of the desk, hoping something would have been left in there, but only quills, ink, and parchment lay there, quite undisturbed.

She sighed in frustration, leaning back on the chair and glancing at her watch. The hands had stopped working and were both pointing at Fifteen Minutes Passed Three. She tapped the glass, trying to get it to work again, even bringing it up to her ear, hearing the ticking sound. She lowered her arm, resting it on her leg.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the hands of the watch move, before snapping back to Three Fifteen. She moved her wrist to the right slightly and the handles moved to Two Ten. She stood and turned a little the handles moving to Twelve o’clock.

Her heart rate quickened; she took a step forward. Nothing changed. Then another. Still nothing. She may have been losing her mind completely, thinking a watch was telling her where to go, but she took a final step and the handles shot to Six Thirty.

River looked down to the wooden floor, covered by a frayed rug.

“Professor,” she muttered, getting to her knees and pulling the rug away to reveal a small trap door, about the size of a sheet of parchment.

Dumbledore got to his feet and lit the tip of his wand, looking closely at the markings down one side of the hatch. “Clever,” Dumbledore chuckled. “Very clever.”

“There’s no handle,” River stated.

Dumbledore chuckled again. “It’s a Goblin lock, like those in Gringotts. They are designed only to open at the touch of the owner, or at least a blood relative, in rare cases they can be opened by those given permission by the owner. I should have realised they would not make it easy to find anything. As if anything were to happen to you, the deed of the house would fall into the hands of the Ministry and they would be able to enter the property.”

River looked between Dumbledore and the hatch, her mind amazed by how intelligent her parents really were, always one step ahead of the Ministry and always one step ahead of everyone else. She felt extremely proud to be called their daughter. She took a deep breath and ran her hand down the metal markings. They were hot to the touch, lighting up red as she moved her hand away, listening as the locks opened one by one on all sides of the hatch. The final lock clicked out of place and the hatch opened slowly, River held her breath as she opened it the rest of the way, revealing a wooden chest, almost the same size as its home.

“Wingardium Leviosa,” River muttered, the chest rising from its home and gently resting on her lap. She put her wand away and looked at the elegant detail in the wood, with the name ‘Storme’ carved into the top.

“We’ll return to the school,” Dumbledore said, looking at River’s watch which was now the correct time. It was sometime after Ten.

River nodded. Closing the small hatch and hiding it beneath the rug. She closed the office door as they left, carrying the chest under her arm, and followed Dumbledore through the house, emerging into the overgrown garden.

Dumbledore took out his cigarette lighter once more and clicked, allowing the balls of light to return to the streetlights, illuminating the street. He held out his arm for River to grip and they vanished on the spot.


	21. Wrongly Accused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River finds herself on the wrong side of the Ministry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a book two after these last few chapters. Which will time jump to just before The Order of the Phoenix.

They reappeared outside of the Hogshead just as the village clock hit Ten Thirty. The Barman quickly unlocked the door and allowed them to enter. The room was dark now and the curtains were closed, only the fireplace was lit.

“Albus,” said the Barman, locking the door behind him. “Elks is in your office, waiting for you. Minerva sent word.”

Dumbledore frowned, muttering something under his breath.

“Miss Storme,” he spoke up, glancing at the Barman who nodded his head. “I need you to remain here for a little longer, whilst I deal with Mr. Elks.”

River glanced at the Barman and felt somewhat uneasy, spending time in a strange place with the possibility of bumping into Harvey Elks didn’t exactly make her feel comfortable. Not after finding out her parents were investigating him.

“Yes Professor,” she replied quietly.

Dumbledore wasted no time, taking some Floo Powder from the mantel place and casting it into the fire. “Hogwarts!” he said, vanishing in the woosh of green flame.

“Drink?” The Barman asked, making his way behind the bar.

River nodded slowly, approaching the bar stool and carefully placing the chest on the bar, resting a protective arm on it. The Barman lit a few more candles with his wand and collected a bottle of butterbeer from one of the dusty shelves, handing it to River.

She put her hand in her pocket, knowing she had change in her coat, but he shook his head and started cleaning pewters mugs with a cloth again.

“Thank you,” she muttered, glancing at the fireplace now and again, waiting for a sign from the headmaster.

The barman cleared his throat a few times, which made River look around, scanning his face, then looking away awkwardly, she felt like she had seen him somewhere before. But this was Hogsmeade and chances are she had seen him on the Highstreet. His black bushy beard and hair reminded her a little of Hagrid, but his face, his nose, and eyes at least looked very familiar.

“You’re that Storme girl, aren’t you?” The Barman spoke up, starting on his fifth mug.

River nodded in reply, taking a sip of butterbeer.

“You look a lot like them,” he said in a kind but blunt way. “Especially Avery, she used to come in here when she was at school.”

River looked surprised hearing her mother's name, her first name at least.

“She preferred studying in the quiet,” he continued. “Although I’ve never met a Witch or Wizard that came to Hogsmeade to study.” He chuckled. “Every month for four years she came here. Used to bring me cake from the Hogwarts Kitchens.”

“That sounds a lot like her,” River laughed quietly.

The Barman smiled and his eyes twinkled, just like Dumbledore’s did.

The fireplace flashed blue and green and a phoenix emerged, singing a little tune, and flying around the room, before diving back into the fire and vanishing.

The Barman put down the mug. “It’s clear,” he said, sounding a little sad. “You best get back to the school.”

River left the bottle of butterbeer on the counter and made her way over to the mantel, taking a pinch of Floo Powder.

“I’m River, by the way,” she said to the Barman.

“Aberforth,” he replied in a grunt.

“It’s nice to meet you Aberforth,” River smiled, as she sprinkled the powder into the fire and vanished, catching a smile from Aberforth as she left.

As she emerged in Dumbledores office, she found him stood beside the fire, waiting for her to return, we wore a grave expression.

"There's been another attack at the Ministry," said Dumbledore.

"Has anyone been killed?" she asked, feeling a lump in her throat.

"Alistair Moody and Young Shacklebolt managed to prevent any further loss of life," he stated. "I'll be going to the Ministry; I assume I can trust you to relay any information you might find in the chest."

River nodded.

"Take my desk, I'll be back when I can. Everard!” he turned to the portrait. “Come find me if Miss Storme finds anything."

"Yes, sir," the portrait replied.

In the blink of an eye, Dumbledore had vanished into the green flames and River was left with just the sounds of ticking instruments and some of the portraits snoring. She went over to the desk and gently placed the chest on to an empty spot, running her fingers along the carvings, trying to work out which side of the box opened.

Simply trying to open it did not work, nor did she expect it to. There were also no keyholes or hidden buttons. She tried her wand, simply just placing her hand onto the box, hoping it would heat up or give off a sign, but the chest remained quite still.

"Let me look at the box, girl!"

River looked around, the portrait of a man called Phineas Nigellus Black was eyeing her and the box closely. He looked rather unpleasant and wore a nasty scowl.

But nevertheless, she picked up the chest and walks towards his portrait. He eyed it for a moment and nodded knowing.

"We have a similar heirloom in the Black Family Home," he stated, rather snobbishly. "Quite a clever little thing."

"Tell the girl what she needs to know Phineas!" Everard snapped, glaring in the direction of his portrait.

"My, my aren't we testy tonight," Phineas replied. "It's sealed with blood, girl!"

"What do you mean?" River asked, taken aback.

Phineas rolled his eyes and looked if it were possible even more cross. "Prick your finger, silly girl! And let the blood drop onto the box."

River dare not say anything else to the man as he watched her return to the table. She took the tip of her wand and pressed it against her index finger, muttering something. There was a sharp pin prick, and she pulled her hand away, holding a drop of blood on her finger.

She carefully moved her hand over the box and allowed the dropped to fall onto the wood. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the drop of blood, as if by some magnetic force, weaved back and forth through the wooden carvings, unlocking different parts of the chest as it went. It got closer and closer to the name "Storme" in the centre and when it finally reached the name it sunk into the wood and vanished.

River placed her hands on both sides of the lid, gently lifting it off and placing it next to the open chest. There were documents in there and a leather-bound journal.

"Bravo!" exclaimed Everard and he watched River pick up the journal which read: “A. Rookwood”. She glanced at the file underneath and saw the name: "Augustus Rookwood" followed by "The Department of Mysteries" and the red stamp: “TRAITOR”.

Before River had a chance to open the journal a loud bang and a scream echoed through the school, alerting all the Portraits. Some of them vanished from their frames, as River watched and waited, holding the journal closely.

Another bang and another scream, a few more of the Headmasters and Head Mistresses vanished to investigate.

"I'll be right back," said Everard sounding worried, leaving River alone with the phoenix.

Her heart was aching as it pounded against her ribs, her breathing ways extremely unsteady. There was a woosh of green flame from the fireplace, then Rivers eyes only saw thick, dark clouds of smoke.

"Who's there?" she moved back against the desk, digging her nails into the journal.

“Avada Kedavra!” A voice rang out, followed by another flash of green in the direction of the bird. River heard the Phoenix call out, before silence.

He used her free hand to feel her way around the desk, moving away from whoever had emerged from the fireplace.

The last thing she remembered was a flash of bright white light and burning hot pain in her head.

“River, what happened?” Dumbledore was the next voice she heard. As she started coming around in the Headmaster's office.

“I…” River coughed, Dumbledore helping her to sit up. When her eyes finally came into focus, she found the Minister for Magic and three others looking down at her and then across to the at lump at the other side of the desk. “I… don’t know,” she said. She suddenly remembered. The journal, where was the journal? It was not in her hand anymore. “Professor…” she muttered. “… the chest…” River tried to force herself to her feet, but Dumbledore stopped her. He looked on top of his desk and glanced at River, he removed the items in the chest and passed them down to River. She took hold of a file reading: “Harvey Elks” followed by the green stamp: “CLEARED”.

“This isn’t…” she opened the journal; it was filled with information about Harvey Elks and even the name at the top of the leather-bound journal read: “H. Elks”. “This isn’t what was in the chest, Professor. It was Rookwood. Both said the name Augustus Rookwood.”

“Calm down now,” said Dumbledore. “I believe you.”

She looked into Dumbledore’s eyes and nodded.

“Come on Albus,” said the Minister. “Are you going to believe her after this?” Bagnold gestured to the lump on the floor.

“Do you think Miss Storme is capable of such a thing?” Dumbledore snapped.

Capable of what? River forced herself to her feet, ignoring Dumbledore’s protests for her to remain sitting on the floor. Her heart sank and she felt deeply and horribly sick. She recognised that lump on the ground, only it wasn’t a lump. The face of Harvey Elks was pale and still, his eyes open but empty. River covered her mouth with her hands and stepped back.

“What… happened… Why is he here…?” tears were welling in her eyes as she turned away from the body of Harvey Elks, unable to look at it a moment longer.

“He was sent here on my orders,” said Minister Bagnold. “To inform Dumbledore of the latest attack.”

Dumbledore stood in front of River protectively. “In which I sent him to Professor McGonagall to inform her I would be at the Ministry.”

“Clearly, keeping him behind so Miss Storme could finish him off?” The man beside the Minister piped up.

“Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?” Dumbledore started to raise his voice. “A sixth year performing the Killing Curse is almost unheard of!”

“But not impossible!” said the man. “The evidence is in the wand Dumbledore! And she is of Age!”

The man held up what looked like River’s wand. River felt her pockets, she could not find it. Her breathing was becoming uncomfortable and unsteady, tears were streaming down her cheeks, listening to accusation being thrown at her, after everything.

“Her wand may have cast the spell, that doesn’t mean she is responsible!” Dumbledore glared at the three Ministry members; River had never seen him look so angry.

“Then who is!?” snapped the Minister.

“Everard!” Dumbledore called out.

“There was a commotion in the halls,” said Everard, sounding guilty. “I regret to say we left to investigate.”

“Phineas? Dilys? Basil?”

The Headmasters and Headmistress shook their heads, confirming they had not seen anything and had been elsewhere at the time.

“I think Master Elks returned here intending to return to the Ministry and ran into Miss Storme here,” said the Minister, sounding spiteful. “Don’t think we hadn’t heard that the girl was starting to wonder if Elks was responsible for killing her parents. You are not the only one with eyes and ears all over the castle, Dumbledore. I think Miss Storme here, riddled with grief over the loss of her parents, found Elks was innocent and wasn’t best pleased with the news when she saw him.”

“That’s a lie!” River called out, feeling a mixture of anger and fear rising within her. “Check my memories if you must, I did not kill Harvey Elks. Find Rookwood, he had something to do with this!”

“Memories can be tampered with!” snapped the other man. “You have no witnesses, no defense, girl! Found with the wand that performed the curse.”

“I was knocked out,” she cried.

“A result when you first perform a Killing Curse,” snapped the Minister. “Is it not… Dumbledore?” 

Dumbledore nodded reluctantly.

The men on either side of the Minister smirked, shaking their head at the idea that Dumbledore was still defending her.

“Please…” River pleaded with them, her hands shaking as she struggled to catch her breath. “… I wouldn’t do this… I have no reason to…”

“She’s been through enough Minister!” Dumbledore snapped.

“Her parents being murdered doesn’t justify killing an innocent man!” The Minister retorted; her face flushed with anger.

“If Miss Storme says she is innocent,” Dumbledore continued, trying to speak as calmly as possible. “I believe her. Might I suggest bringing Rookwood here?”

“Rookwood was hit by a curse and is currently in St Mungo’s,” the taller man stated, looking smug.

“Forgive me,” Dumbledore continued. “But I do not recall the Death Eaters attacking the Department of Mysteries. Perhaps Rookwood found himself in Hogwarts against Mr. Elks, a very capable Wizard.”

“Poppycock!” the Minister laughed at the thought of it, which made River’s skin prickle in anger. “The girl has no evidence and no defense. She will need to be taken to the Ministry and questioned by Crouch and his men.”

Dumbledore raised his wand at the Minister. “You will not be removing Miss Storme from this school Minister. You have no authority here.”

The Minister's men went for their wands, but Bagnold stopped them. “Fine! We’ll see what the Auror’s have to say!”

The Minister turned on her heels and vanished into the fire, her men followed closely behind, vanishing the body of Harvey Elks and then vanished within the green flames.

River stood their awestruck.

“Everard! Dilys!” Dumbledore called out. “Collect Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and Slughorn.”

“Yes Sir,” they looked grave as they responded.

“Amrose!” The smallest Portrait looked over at Dumbledore. “You know what to do!”

He nodded and vanished.

Dumbledore finally turned to River, helping her to his armchair, taking the journal and files from River’s shaking hands.

“Albus,” Phineas said, looking down at the scene before him. “I can confirm that the file has at least been changed. The stamp. It was red before.”

“That won’t count for much in Crouch’s eyes,” Dumbledore stated. “That man with throw anyone in Azkaban.”

River’s watery eyes looked to Dumbledore. Her heart and lungs felt like they might almost explode. She felt numb, but at the same time felt as those thousands of little pins were stabbing her repeatedly. Dumbledore clasped her hands in his. “Az…kaban?”

“Don’t worry,” he whispered.

McGonagall soon turned up with Flitwick, Sprout, and Slughorn.

When Professor McGonagall looked between Dumbledore and River, she looked a mixture of furious and concerned. She hurried over to River and knelt beside her. Looking to Dumbledore for some form of explanation.

“Harvey Elks has been killed,” he said, walking back to the perch by the fireplace and collecting the phoenix which was now a chick in a pile of ash. He tucked him away in his pocket and sighed.

“How? When?” It was Slughorn who spoke.

“Now is not the time,” said Dumbledore. “But Miss Storme finds herself being accused of his murder by the Minister herself.”

River started to sob again as McGonagall put her arm around her shoulders. Unsure of how to respond.

“A Sixth Year!” Squeaked Professor Flitwick. “Performing the Killing Curse on a Ministry Official. Has the Minister lost her mind?!”

“Which is why I need you all here to defend Miss Storme when questioned,” Dumbledore stated.

“This is surely not getting taken to court!?” McGonagall asked breathlessly. “You know what they’re like. Crouch and his lot. They do not listen to reason.”

“Let us hope they do.”


	22. Barty Crouch's Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River is tried in front of Barty Crouch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last chapter will sum up what happens after the war when Rookwood is found to be guilty and Sirius is arrested before I start on book two.

River had not slept for weeks, she had also found herself locked up in the Hospital Wing once again, kept away from all the other students. Minister Bagnold had gone to the press to spite Dumbledore and her name and face were plastered on every front page, wrongly informing the wizarding world that she, River Storme had murdered Harvey Elks.

While the teachers believe Dumbledore and believe River, the students and parents were not so forgiving and were furious that she was still walking free, stating that her parent's murder is no excuse to allow her to walk free or be hidden away in the school, risking the lives of others.

It was times like this River truly appreciated and loved her friends. Lily, Beth, James, Remus and Peter had not doubted her for a second and even spoke in her defence. Sirius, River knew was a nervous wreck and had missed more than enough lessons, hiding away with her in the hospital wing. If anything, this had brought them closer, he even snuck into the room every night.

Dumbledore had an assembly not long after the Daily Profit story, denying any claims River had killed Harvey Elks, but it was hard to convince those who were listening to their parents closely.

It came to the beginning of April and another article in the Daily Profit was released, stating that River’s court date was on the fifteen of that month. This was swiftly followed by a court summons and a sudden sense of dread. The Daily Profit was stating that she would be found guilty and River was already aware people wanted her to pay for ‘killing’ Harvey Elks. A lot wanted her to suffer the same fate, but life imprisonment would also suffice. It had taken her weeks, but she knew what would happen if no evidence appeared in her defence.

***

She woke at four in the morning on the fifteenth, climbing out of bed carefully, as not to wake Sirius who was sound asleep. She looked at him as she finished changing, feeling a tear go down her cheek. When Madam Pomfrey poked her head around the curtain she nodded, gave Sirius a kiss on his cheek and left the hospital wing for what felt like the last time.

When she reached the entrance hall, she had expected to only find Professor Dumbledore there. But Professor McGonagall, Sprout, Slughorn, Flitwick and even Professor Prodd and Hagrid stood waiting for her as well as a few Aurors that had been patrolling the school, most likely here to make sure she went to court.

She felt her heart sink further, the fake expressions of reassurance gave her little comfort. Hagrid was already dabbing his eyes with a tea towel he used as a handkerchief.

“How are you feeling?” Professor McGonagall asked, squeezing her shoulder with her hand.

River shrugged, unable to force any words out of her mouth.

“It’ll all be over soon,” Professor Sprout said calmly. “If they have any sense, they’ll clear your name.”

“You’ll be all right,” said Slughorn.

“Good luck,” squeaked Professor Flitwick.

She smiled weakly as she passed them, only being stopped by Hagrid to give her a rib-crushing hug.

“We better go,” said Dumbledore.

River nodded, following Dumbledore to the door and stepping into the morning air.

“Kingsley,” Dumbledore turned to the dark-skinned Auror with a kind face. “We’ll meet in the usual place tonight.”

He did not react, be seemed to blink in a way to state he understood.

River knew they could have simply gone through the Floo Network, but part of her knew Dumbledore wanted to give her some final breaths of freedom before they arrived at the Ministry, the possibility of going to Azkaban looming over her. Overpowering every possible thought in her mind.

“There are letters,” River muttered, hardly able to believe words were leaving her lips. “With Aberforth, for Lily, Beth and the boys. Make sure they get them if… well… you know.”

“River…” Dumbledore muttered.

“Please Professor,” she pleaded. “I’ve come to terms with the reality of the situation. I am not foolish enough to believe otherwise. Just don’t let Sirius do something stupid. Or any of them. There is evidence out there, somewhere and sooner or later it will make an appearance.”

Dumbledore didn’t reply, he just simply nodded his head.

As they appeared in the Ministry itself, they found it quite deserted as no one had started attending work at this time. River had been here a few times before and normally the throng of people would carry them to the lifts and owls would fly here and there. Only a few Aurors and Guards were walking around the halls at this time, watching Dumbledore and River closely as they approached the lifts.

When the golden grille slid back, Dumbledore step on first and River took a deep breath before joining him. With a great jangling and clattering the lift descended into the depths of the Ministry, passing by the other departments. When the lift came to a stop a cool voice rang out:

“Department of Mysteries.”

“This is us,” said Dumbledore.

They entered a long corridor. The walls were bare, there were no windows and no doors apart from a plain black one sitting at the very end of the corridor. Dumbledore turned to his left and River followed on, going down a small flight of steps before walking down another long corridor with rough stone walls and torches in brackets. The doors they passed were heavy wooden ones with iron bolts and keyholes.

Dumbledore stopped them outside of a grimy dark door with an immense iron lock.

“Ready?” Dumbledore asked.

River nodded as Dumbledore turned the heavy iron door handle and stepped inside the courtroom. Chest pains were mixed with stomach pains as the door closed behind her. But she refused to cry, biting the inside of her cheek as some distraction.

The room was dimly lit and there were no windows, merely torches in brackets, such as the ones that illuminated the walls of Hogwarts. River saw that rows and rows and Witches and Wizards were seated around every wall on what seemed to be benches rising in levels. An empty chair stood in the centre of the room with chain encircling the arms.

River did not take a seat, she stood beside the chair, with Dumbledore beside her. Dumbledore, River notice, was looking up at the middle bench, to a dark-haired man with a neat moustache and stern expression. She had seen him before in the Daily Profit and had met his son in the corridors during her time at Hogwarts.

Barty Crouch Sr was an intimidating looking man. He was a man that had a reputation of putting anyone and everyone away in Azkaban with little evidence. The Witch to his left, River recognised as an Auror and a friend of her parents. The other Witches and Wizards on the benches looked down at her with a grim expression, all seemed to have already reached their decision and she could sense Dumbledore knew this as well.

“River Storme, you have been brought here in front of the Council of Magical Law to answer charges relating to the death of Harvey Elks,” said Crouch. “We have heard the evidence against you and are about to reach our verdict. Do you have anything to add to your testimony before we pronounce judgement?”

“She has said her part and I, as well as many others, have spoken out for her,” Dumbledore replied in her place, but the look on Crouch’s face distorted and if anything, he looked even angrier.

“It’s not your place to say Dumbledore!” he snapped. “Miss Storme has evidence against her, proving that she was the perpetrator in this crime! Everyone in the room has seen the evidence and speaking against her ‘better character’ will do little to change minds.”

The Witches and Wizards on the benches mumbled and nodded in agreement.

“She is of Age!” Crouch continued. “She knew exactly what she was doing when she took the life of Master Harvey Elks. Were you told that there was a chance you could have students at Hogwarts working for He Who Must Not be Named? Did Miss Storme not state to you that she suspected Master Elks of having something to do with her parent’s death? Can you honestly still say that you trust River Storme?”

“Yes, I can!” Dumbledore replied. “I don’t question her story and you have been given evidence in her defence.”

“Evidence that can be disproven!” Crouch shot. “I do not wish to be your enemy Dumbledore, but if you stand in the way of this court and their decision you will find yourself in Azkaban.”

Those words made Rivers’ inside feel cold. Dumbledore in Azkaban would leave every student in Hogwarts at risk. Leaving Lily, Beth and the boys in grave danger. She knew what she had to do.

“Mr Crouch,” she muttered, but her voice still echoed around the room.

“What is it, girl?” He snapped, unhappy about being addressed by her.

“I would like Professor Dumbledore dismissed from the court,” she said, not taking her eyes away from Crouch, who seemed very pleased by her decision.

“You heard her Dumbledore,” he said.

“River…” Dumbledore muttered.

“Find the evidence and keep them safe,” she whispered, nodding in the direction of the door.

Dumbledore would have argued back, and she knew it, but this time, only tears appeared in his once bright and twinkling eyes, knowing just as well as she did, the outcome of this trail. He took her hand and squeezed it, nodding and then leaving.

River was now alone, waiting.

Once the door had closed with a thud, her eyes met with Crouch’s dark cold ones.

“Do you have anything to say in your own defence, Miss Storme?” He said coldly.

“Only…” she began. “The truth will come out eventually.”

There was muttering from around the courtroom before Crouch called for silence.

“River Storme, you have been found guilty of the murder of Ministry Official Harvey Elks, with the possibility of conspiring with You-Know-Who!” said Crouch. “For this, I suggest… life… imprisonment in Azkaban.”

There was muttering from the stands, with many nodding their heads in agreement.

“It will be put to a vote,” said Crouch coldly. He turned to the right-hand side of the Dungeon. “The jury will please raise their hands… those in favour of the imprisonment…”

River kept her gaze down at the ground. She could hear the hands raising, and the mutters.

“Guilty!” Crouch’s voice boomed around the courtroom.


	23. The Aftermath (First Person)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When River is arrested and time passes, will she still have a life outside of Azkaban.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have already started on book 2, which is a time jump. So older River, Sirius and Remus and... Smut... Lots and lots of Smut!

On the Fifteen of April 1977, I was found guilty of the murder of Harvey Elks, a Ministry Official and Right-Hand man to the Minister for Magic.

I was seventeen years old, but in the eyes of the Ministry of Magic I was deemed as an adult and old enough to understand what I had done. Only I did not understand, as I knew I was innocent.

For four years I squandered away in the depths of Azkaban, letting go of happy memories, reliving the deaths of my parents. Worrying and afraid as I waited for news of my friends and the Wizard War.

Dumbledore had fought for years, trying to free me, trying to find the evidence he needed. As did Sirius, Remus, James, Peter, Beth and Lily. I hoped, more than anything Sirius would move on, I hoped they all would move on. But none of them did. I could not see them, but I could at least write to them once a year on the anniversary of my imprisonment. On that day I would receive piles and piles of letters they had sent through the year, each one cheerier than the last.

On the Fifth of November 1981, I was visited by Dumbledore, for the second time in four years. On that day, my heart broke and my life shattered once again. James and Lily had died at the hands of Lord Voldemort.

On the Eight of December 1981, I saw him again. He had hardly changed. Sirius Black, cuffed and shackled, being escorted into Azkaban by Aurors. He met my eyes as he passed my cell, those same caring eyes I had adored, whispering only that it was his fault James and Lily were dead. Now Peter and Beth were also dead. Peter by the hands of Sirius and Beth by the hands of a Death Eater. More than anything… I wanted to be dead.

As March 1982 came around, more and more Death Eaters were arrested, and Azkaban was full of those who had betrayed the Ministry. Igor Karkaroff a young and scared man was hidden away in a cell across from my own. He’d weep every night and call out for his mother and father, hoping they would hear. But he went quiet. They all go quiet eventually.

But Karkaroff was in Voldemort’s inner circle and the Death Eater was of some use to the Ministry. Karkaroff was shifted to the Ministry courts later than same year and gave names, dozens of names and a name both me and Dumbledore had waited for: Augustus Rookwood.

By 1983 Rookwood was arrested with a full confession, including the murder of Harvey Elks and was also found with the evidence I had found hidden away in my parent’s chests.

I was taken from Azkaban on my Twenty-Fourth Birthday and brought before the Ministry. Minister Bagshot and Mr. Crouch stood in a courtroom filled with Witches and Wizards, some, who I recognised from my trail, those who declared I was guilty.

They offered me an apology and a handshake for taking six years of my life from me, and to add insult to injury, a job at the ministry.

The newspapers were in an uproar, everyone was in an uproar. Daughter of Hero Aurors wrongly accused of murder and sent to prison for six years did not sit well with the Magical World. Bagshot had to resign within weeks and Mr. Crouch had to step down from his position.

I moved back into my flat above Flourish and Blotts, finding William and Martha waiting for me with open arms, the wall in their office containing the letters I had managed to send them, and a poster of myself beside it saying: Innocent!.

Remus and I clung to one another, the moment we had found each other again. I was all he had left after his mum had died and, in a way, being with him felt like I still had Lily, Beth, James and Peter with me. I wish I could say the same about Sirius, but every time my mind wandered to him, I felt sick, I felt ashamed and there was a hatred there I could not shake.

But putting everything behind us was far from our thoughts. Within a few months, I was working alongside Mad-Eye Moody as an Auror. Remus was helping in Flourish and Blotts, unable to join the Ministry being a Werewolf. But we had both found ourselves working closely with Dumbledore, who was sure, it wasn’t the end of Voldemort.


End file.
